AN 11-year-old Blackburn boy, who was traumatised by witnessing his father's attempted suicide at the age of five, stood outside a shop with a petrol can in his hand and told the owner he was going to firebomb the premises.

Blackburn magistrates heard that shopkeeper Shahabuddin Solkar was frightened for himself, his family and his business when the threat was issued by the child, who had previously been banned from the shop.

And they were told that since the offence in September the child had been sent to a residential school where he was doing well and there had been no further problems.

The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted a breach of the peace and was bound over for £50 to keep the peace for six months. A charge of threatening to destroy property was withdrawn.

Ian Huggan, defending, said his client had always denied the specific allegation but accepted there had been an argument and his behaviour was not acceptable.

He said there had been a problem with the boy's schooling and the decision to send him to a residential unit in Cumbria appeared to be a success.

Mr Huggan said: "I am told he is doing extremely well now. His problems go back to when he was five years old and he witnessed his father trying to commit suicide by hanging himself."