WHAT started as a prank for an adult and two juveniles ended up in costly damage to a field of wheat and farm machinery at Camborne's Duchy College, Truro court heard.

Before the magistrates was Kyle Richard Honer, aged 18, of Pen Forth, Pengegon, Camborne, who pleaded guilty to taking a tractor without consent and being concerned with two juveniles in a similar offence, destroying wheat crops and criminal damage at The Scrap Store, Trevu Road, Camborne, to the value of £200.

Also with him were a 17-year-old who admitted two offences of taking a vehicle without consent and one of destroying crops, and a 14-year-old who admitted aggravated vehicle taking, destroying wheat crops and breaching a bail condition.

The magistrates directed that for legal reasons the two juveniles should not be identified. Anita Kennett, prosecuting, said the farm manager for Duchy College had been notified that a tractor had been damaged on the land.

All three defendants had taken a tractor and driven it, and Honer and the older juvenile got out when the younger boy then drove it and caused damage to it. Honer and the 17-year-old got into two other tractors, each driving one, and drove through a field of crops.

Honer did damage at the Scrap Store and was caught after a police dog tracked him, when he told the police he had gone there to sleep.

Honer had no previous convictions, nor did one of the juveniles, but the other was described as a persistent youth offender.

Solicitor John Boyle, for Honer, said he was just 18, unemployed, and had gone to the Scrap Store to sleep after falling out with his mother.

The magistrates adjourned his case until October 6, asking for a probation report, and also imposing interim disqualification from driving.

Jeremy Leaning, for the 17-year-old, said his ambition had been to go to Duchy College but that was now thwarted because of his conduct. Alone, he said, he would never have done anything like this, but there had been a degree of mutual encouragement.

It had started out as a prank, going to the college to ride on a tractor, but ended up as very serious criminal conduct.

The magistrates made a referral order for eight months, telling the youth: "This was just a mindless stupid act which had serious consequences," adding that probably there was an element of peer pressure amongst all of them. Fred Howell, for the 14-year-old, asked the magistrates to adjourn the case to the next youth court and this they agreed to do.