Three schoolboys became Croydon’s youngest criminal siblings after trying to rob two children in the street.

The brothers, aged 11, 13 and 15, pleaded guilty on Monday to an attempted robbery near Selhurst station in August last year.

Another youth was named Croydon’s youngest criminal after he was sentenced to detention in February 2010, as he celebrated his 12th birthday.

The yob managed to get a string of convictions for theft, assault and burglary before he was finally convicted.

In Monday’s case Croydon Youth Court heard two cousins, aged 10 and 11, had left a barbecue at their grandmother’s house to get some soft drinks and sweets after the party ran dry.

They walked into a shop where they bumped into the three brothers.

As the boys left the shop the brothers from Thornton Heath followed them out and the youngest, just 11-years-old, asked one of the boys for the time before asking to see their phones.

When they refused the brothers asked him if he wanted to get “punched up”, while another said: “Scare him, scare him, give me your money, you’ve got five seconds”.

The two youngest boys then pretended to search for knives in their jumpers after the oldest told them to “draw for the thing”.

Despite being surrounded one of the boys managed to escape and ran to his grandmother’s house, where he told his sisters what had happened.

The three brothers were later arrested at Selhurst station.

In a victim impact statement one of the young cousins said: “During the incident I was scared.

“I thought they were going to kill me. When the little one had his hand up his jumper I was really scared.”

All three brothers pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted robbery and were ordered to carry out a nine-month youth rehabilitation order, which their mother must also attend.

The mother, who has five children and is unemployed, was not asked to pay anything towards costs, but was ordered to pay £25 compensation to each of the cousins.