A 12 year old tearaway who vandalised a tram after he was suspended from school for breaking into classrooms has appeared in court.

The boy admitted causing £672 worth of damage by hurling stones that shattered one of the vehicle’s window near Phipps Bridge in Mitcham last Monday.

On Thursday magistrates at a youth court session of Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court said the child, who has previous convictions for criminal damage but cannot be identified for legal reasons, would be sentenced next month.

His father, a recovering crack addict, told the court his son would bring drugs into the house and escape out of a window to cause trouble.

The court also heard the boy had recently been moved to a residential school in Guildford – but was suspended from it after breaking into classrooms. He had come back to Morden to stay with his parents, who said they struggle to control him, when he committed the offence last week.

The court heard CCTV operators had seen the boy throwing rocks at two trams at about 2pm, and alerted police officers who arrested him near the tram stop.

When magistrates asked the boy why he had vandalised the tram he said: “I don’t know – just to get attention.”

The child’s father said he believed his son had some sort of learning disability, and his lawyer described the boy’s level of concentration as “very small”. She said: “After five minutes he gets very bored and agitated.”

The boy was granted bail while probation officers prepared reports on him, with the condition he does not go near a tram route or stop unless supervised by an adult. He will be sentenced at the court on March 11.