A school bully has been sent to a young offenders institution for 12 months after waging a two-year campaign of intimidation and theft against fellow pupils.

The boy, who cannot be named, pleaded guilty at Salford magistrates' court, Greater Manchester, to 65 offences.

Some of his victims were so terrified that they stayed away from school or left lessons early to avoid him.

The boy stabbed one 14-year-old girl with a sharpened pencil after she refused to give him any more money. An 11-year-old boy was threatened on at least 10 occasions, while another victim, aged 14, was targeted more than five times.

Police were called in when the boy put his latest victim in a head lock and demanded money.

District Judge Jonathan Finestein told the teenager: "You conducted a reign of terror against five or six pupils."