An 11-year-old arsonist who set fire to Brownhills Common, vandalised two cars and threw a stone through a restaurant window causing hundreds of pounds of damage later told police he did it because he was feeling bored.

The yob, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Walsall Magistrates Court flanked by his mother, who was ordered to pay a total of £400 compensation for the damage her son had caused. The fire he started spread to 300 square feet of land, causing £300 of damage on September 11.

In a separate act of vandalism, the young criminal jumped on the bonnet and roof of a Mitsubishi car and a Fiat, causing £1,300 in dents and scratches on October 4.

Two days later he threw a stone through the window of the Thai Lanna restaurant in Hednesford Road, Brownhills, causing a further £300 damage.

Miss Maxine McIntosh, prosecuting, said: “He told the police he was bored when he committed the offence.

“He stated he didn’t deliberately aim at the window, but threw the stone in the direction of the restaurant and when the window smashed he ran away from the scene.

“He accepted he was present at the scene of the grassland and set alight to a patch of grass using a cigarette lighter.

“The fire went out and he lit another patch of grass and the fire went out of control.

“The defendant did not make any efforts to contact the fire service, and he accepts that it could cause damage to the local wildlife.”

Mr Nicholas Loach, defending, said: “He accepted he had become involved in matters with another man who is substantially older than him.”

Chairman of the bench Mr John Palmer sentenced the boy, who admitted three charges of criminal damage and one of arson, to a nine-month referral order and ordered his mother to pay £100 compensation for each of the offences.

He told him: “You have got yourself and your mum in to a mess.

“It’s all very well jumping on the bonnet of a car but there is a cost. Your messing about has left your mum with a bill for £400.”