A 14-year-old boy caught up in riots sparked by the Southport stabbings avoided punishment after police and prosecutors decided the wrath of his parents was sufficient.

Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions (DPP), said the telling-off the child received after being marched to a police station was “more effective” than taking him through the courts.

More than 570 people have appeared in court in relation to the disorder, with BBC analysis in August finding at least 49 of those charged were aged under 18.

Mr Parkinson said prosecutors were “very alive” to the risk of children being criminalised unnecessarily but “sometimes, I’m afraid, the state has to intervene”.

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The DPP told the PA news agency: “We had an instance where a family marched their 14-year-old to the police station, having seen on social media that that individual had been involved in the disorder.

“And actually, we took the decision that the wrath that had been visited on that child by his parents was more effective than anything the criminal justice system could deliver.”

In contrast, Mr Parkinson said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had come across families who regarded joining in with rioting as a “day out”.

Last Tuesday, the youngest person to appear in court over the riots was given a 12-month referral order and a three-month curfew after pleading guilty to violent disorder.

The 12-year-old boy, who cannot be named, threw two stones at police officers.

“Sometimes the state, I’m afraid, has to intervene,” Mr Parkinson said.

“And the consequence of an intervention like the 12-year-old is a referral order, which would then mean that rehabilitation can take place and we can divert them from the path of criminality.

“That’s the objective with youngsters, not to criminalise them, it’s to put them on the right path.”

The courts have acted swiftly to hand out tough sentences to those convicted in relation to the riots, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vowing to make sure those involved would “feel the full force of the law”.

Mr Parkinson said the CPS was “proud of the way we responded”, and said the first sentence meted out “probably sent shockwaves”.

He said: “They were relatively easy cases to prosecute – I couldn’t see why we should wait and I wanted to get that message out, I know I did get that message out.”

The CPS will “review” its part in the disorder prosecutions and “reflect on lessons to be learned”, Mr Parkinson said.

Violent unrest in towns and cities across England, fuelled by misinformation including false claims spread online suggesting the suspect was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat, began at the end of July following the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport.

“Investigations have been opened” into whether any alleged criminality had been carried out by far-right groups during the riots, Mr Parkinson added.