CHILDREN returned verdicts of "fantastic" and "really cool" when magistrates came to their school to administer justice in a case of theft in the school cloakroom.

York and Selby JPs Paul Ironmonger and Joe Lennon gave older children at Poppleton Ousebank Primary School a lesson about their work and how the judicial system operates.

After morning break, the youngsters took part in a mock youth court trial in which children played all the court roles from usher and magistrate to defendant and solicitors.

They heard from prosecution and defence exactly as a youth court would hear a case and the bench of three children "retired" with one magistrate to consider their verdict while the other led a discussion among the children in the audience about what they had heard and how they would decide a verdict.

The bench were united in their decision that the defendant had "stolen" a purse and a mobile phone and gave her a conditional discharge as it was her first "offence".

The children had so many questions for the magistrates in the concluding discussion the session over-ran.

Year 6 pupil, Theo Walton, said: "I think it will be very useful in the future. If we go to court we will know what is happening."

Other children hoped they would be chosen as jurors when they were old enough and described the sessions as "amazing", "fantastic" and "really cool". All wanted a repeat visit.

"It exceeded expectations," said teacher Neil Brookfield. "It has been super. We have been looking at law and order topic in Year 6 and we had a real life context here." He added that he would definitely recommend other schools to hold similar sessions.

The morning visit was part of the York and Selby Bench's Magistrates in the Community project in which magistrates visit organisations including schools to talk about their work and lead mock trials. The cases and talks are tailored to the audience and can be arranged through Mr Ironmonger of York and Selby Magistrates, The Law Courts, Clifford Street, York.