The mother of a teenage rioter pleaded with magistrates not to jail her teenage son.

She made the plea through an interpreter after the 17-year-old admitted throwing two missiles at police officers during last summer's disturbances.

The youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to a charge of riot at Bradford Youth Court and was given an 18-month detention and training order (DTO).

It will run concurrently with another 18 month DTO he is currently serving for robbery.

His mother told the court she is ill with diabetes and struggling to look after two young children. She added she has no relatives in the area and there was no-one else to help her.

Shufqat Khan, mitigating, said the woman's son had got 'carried away' in the troubles.

He said the youngster became involved when he bumped into friends who were involved in a protest against the BNP, Mr Khan said, but had only gone into town to visit a sports shop.

The youngster had gone off the rails following a number of personal tragedies including his father's death.

"He knows he has brought shame not only on himself but on his family, community and ultimately the city of Bradford," said Mr Khan.

Magistrates were shown a video - which included the youngster wearing a blue Nike T-shirt identical to the one he wore in court - throwing missiles at police.

Charles McRae, prosecuting, said the defendant was captured on police cameras on July 7. At his second police interview he admitted throwing stones at officers and had shown remorse for his actions.

When asked why he did it he said: "I was with friends and I got carried away. They were all throwing stones."

Magistrate Roger Davy told the youngster he had made matters worse by trying to hide his identity by covering his face and ignoring the pleas of elders from his community to stop.

Meanwhile, four men and a teenager all pleaded guilty to riot when they appeared before Bradford Crown Court for the first time yesterday.

They admitted involvement in the disturbances, but Judge Stephen Gullick agreed to adjourn sentence on each of them for various reasons.

The court heard that Israr Ali, 20, of Nearcliffe Road, Heaton, admitted throwing stones at a pub and dragging a barricade with other people, but a judge will have to decide at a later hearing whether he was also caught on video throwing bottles.

Zaheer Bashir, 22, of Horton Grange Road, Bradford, Mohammed Farraz, 21, of Victoria Street, Heckmondwike, and Tanveer Ali, 24, of Bradford, Road, Stanningley, also pleaded guilty and had their cases adjourned for reports to be prepared. Mohib Ahmed, now 18, of Buxton Street, Heaton, had his sentence adjourned after Judge Gullick told him that the Court of Appeal were being asked to rule on the appropriate way of dealing with those defendants who were only 17 at the time of the riot.