A bungling schoolboy robber told his victim: “That’s really harsh,” when the man refused to hand over the £20 he demanded.

The 17-year-old drug addict wrapped a football scarf round his face and pointed a knife at two passers-by on a dark Keighley street, Bradford Crown Court heard. But he abandoned two attempted robberies in quick succession when neither of his intended victims owned up to having the money.

The teenager, described in court yesterday as a gifted scholar and talented athlete, was spared custody when the judge heard he had overcome his cannabis habit and his life was back on track.

The youth, who cannot be named because of his age, pleaded guilty to two offences of attempted robbery in Spring Gardens Lane, Keighley, on December 15. He put a scarf round his face and waylaid a woman walking to the town centre from Cliffe Castle, prosecutor Jayne Beckett said.

He blocked her path, pointed a knife at her and demanded £20. She told him she did not have that much money, but offered him her purse. He walked off after being distracted by a passing van.

Minutes later, the Keighley youth struck again, this time picking on a man. Pointing the knife at his stomach, he ordered: “Give me £20. I want £20.” When the man said he did not have it, the teenager replied: “That’s really harsh. Off you go then.”

Reporting the robbery to the police, the man described the teenager as “an inept criminal”. He said he was polite but “very naïve and stupid”.

Richard Gioserano, the 17-year-old’s barrister, said he fell in with the wrong crowd, became addicted to cannabis and did not realise the seriousness of what he was doing.

Judge Peter Benson told the smartly-dressed teenager robbers with knives were almost always locked up. But the young man was a star pupil and showed great promise as an athlete. The teenager was sentenced to a Youth Rehabilitation Order with supervision for 12 months and a four-month substance misuse programme.