Two teenagers who became embroiled in a vicious knife fight with a drug dealer had walked out of a courtroom just hours earlier.

The two boys, one of whom is from Putney, were stabbed during a fight in front of horrified students outside Chessington Community College, in Kingston, on May 30.

The two 16-year-olds, who cannot be named for legal reasons, ran away through back alleyways dripping blood before collapsing at a bus stop, sparking a police manhunt.

The pair had tried to rob the drug dealer of cannabis at Sir Francis Barker recreation ground but their plan backfired when he pulled a knife.

One of the teenagers told the court: "I thought I would get away with it. I did not think of the consequences. Before I had no motivation but I have been thinking a lot. This is not the life I want. I can do much better."

Both received 18-month youth rehabilitation orders when they appeared at Wimbledon Youth Court for their sentencing on August 7 after pleading guilty to affray.