A TEENAGER who slashed a delivery driver with a knife and then stole his van has been sentenced to two years custody by Newcastle Crown Court.

The 16-year-old was one of four people charged in connection with the incident.

It happened in Ravenswood Square, Sunderland, shortly after 12.30am on August 31, last year.

The teenager was convicted of robbery along with Trevor Hall, 30, of Ravenswood Square, Sunderland.

The teenager was sentenced to a two-year detention and training order while Hall was jailed for 18 months.

Another youth and a girl, both aged 16, who were convicted of handling stolen goods, were each given a two-year conditional discharge.

The group hatched a plan to attack a van belonging to alcohol delivery firm Dial-A-Drink from Hall's rented flat in Ravenswood Square.

After ordering from the company, they waited for the van to arrive and then distracted the male delivery driver as he sat in the vehicle.

The 16-year-old arrived and, in an unprovoked attack, slashed him on the left hand with a knife before grabbing the van keys. The van driver fled on foot with the takings.

His attacker drove off in the vehicle, abandoned it and stole some of the alcohol from inside, which the group drank in Hall's flat.

All four were subsequently arrested and charged.

Detective Constable Gary Hannah, of Sunderland CID, said: "In my opinion, the teenager who attacked the driver is a real danger. This was an entirely unprovoked attack which he carried out purely to demonstrate he meant business. The assault was totally unnecessary and it's in the interests of the public to get him off the streets."