‘This is not justice,’ says Carlisle mum as 16-year-old thug who left man with fractured skull walks free from court. Our readers had their say on the News & Star website and Facebook page.

Appalling and unbelievable but no surprise from the legal system. I find it shocking and can’t understand why no one tried to help, or even rang for help. I hope he’s on the mend and you as a family get some justice. He should be named and he should be given suitable punishment, not let away with it which is what he has done.

Katie Palmer

No justice here and he should be named. Why nobody phoned for an ambulance shows the problems we have to tackle as a society but this sentence is a joke.

James England

A very lenient sentence for such an unpleasant and unprovoked attack.

Sammy JB

If they do the crime then they should be named. The judges these days are far too soft. We need a tougher justice system. National service would be a good start. If they’re too young, a tough way of making good of the crime they have dished out.

Hazel Hughes

This could have ended as tragically as another incident that happened in Harraby, the victim still suffering to this day so I find it appalling that no one rang an ambulance for 20 minutes and also the thug wasn’t given a term in an offenders institution. It’s just disgraceful!

Lynda Dolores Nixon

Absolute shocking sentence and as for people not getting an ambulance, words fail me.

Joan Kilgour

I’d like to learn about what vindicating circumstances there were for the judge/magistrates to place such a lenient sentence. Why on earth nobody called an ambulance is baffling - that’s not the Harraby I grew up in. Utterly disgraceful thing to happen.

May the perpetrator get what’s coming to him, and it certainly will.

David Boothman

So what has the 16-year-old learned from this? That it is OK to launch a cowardly attack on someone and even if you cause them severe injury you will get away with it. Once again our courts have proved their impotence.

Ronald William Cowing

Absolute joke of a sentence, even the sentencing council recommends 5-10 years’ custodial sentence for this type of offence, based on the injuries sustained and the culpability of the offender, yet again the magistrates let them off with a slap on the wrist, while the victim and his family are trying to pick up the pieces and put their whole family back together.

Scott Wilby

Too young to be named but old enough to give hiding out like that then stay anonymous and walks free from court - what an absolute disgrace to society.

Jodi Mellor