TWO teenage boys went on a drunken wrecking spree, causing £5,000 damage to a coach, a court heard on Friday.

A 15-year-old from Corsham and a 14-year-old from Colerne pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to the coach when they appeared before magistrates at Trowbridge youth court.

The court heard that the pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had decided to walk from Corsham to nearby Box on the evening of February 20. Whilst they were in the village with a group of friends they persuaded a passer-by to go into a shop to buy them some beer and spent the evening drinking it.

The two youngsters then missed the last bus back to Corsham, and decided they would walk back.

They got to the top of Box Hill when they came across the coach, belonging to Hatts Coaches of Chippenham.

The coach had been parked at the side of the road by the driver who was planning to collect it the next morning. Matthew Drew, defending one of the boys, said: "They initially thought it was abandoned because it was an odd place for it to be. It did not appear to be secured so they got into it.

"The reason they got in was that it was cold, they had been walking for some time and wanted to sit down."

He told the court that there was no evidence that entry on to the coach had been forced and it appears that it was left unlocked.

The 14-year-old broke one of the windows and then both boys continued until they had smashed all the windows in the coach.

Mr Drew said of his client: "He has been asked for a reason and he cannot explain why he did it, but no doubt alcohol played a part."

The boys were seen on the coach by someone who lives nearby and the police were called to the scene, where one was arrested straight away and the other shortly afterwards.

Neither of the youngsters had been in any sort of trouble before and both their families thought they were spending the night at a friend's house.

The father of the 15-year-old said: "I am quite frankly still reeling at the thought that he should do something so ridiculously and completely stupid.

"I hope he understands just how incredibly brassed off I am at him for having done it."

The teenagers were both given a five-month referral order and ordered to pay £350 compensation to the coach firm.