TWO teenage boys have been convicted of conspiracy to murder at Leeds Crown Court after plotting a Columbine-inspired shooting at their school.

The teenagers, both 15, sat motionless alongside their tearful mothers as the verdicts were read to them on Thursday.

The older boy, wearing a shirt, was also convicted of unlawful wounding, but cleared of a count of aggravated burglary.

During the three-week trial, prosecutors claimed that the pair "hero-worshipped" Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the teenagers responsible for murdering 13 people at Columbine High School, Colorado, in 1999.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, Detective Superintendent Martin Snowden, said: “This is a deeply unsettling case and the cause of significant concern for all associated with it. The impact of it has been felt profoundly by the staff at the school, its pupils and their parents, and indeed the local community.

“We are extremely grateful for their support and the assistance we have received from North Yorkshire Police and the local authority during the course of our investigation.

“Following this trial, two boys (who cannot be named for legal reasons) have been found guilty of a number of extremely serious offences, not least conspiracy to murder. There is no understating the severity of these offences and the potential implications had their plans not come to the attention of the authorities.

“These boys demonstrated a very real interest in violence and had both expressed a desire to act out their fascinations.

"Disturbingly, they had gone beyond the fantasy and had begun to take very real steps towards making it a reality. They’d conducted research online, created a plan and identified potential targets. They’d looked into weapons, how they could get hold of them and where they could be stored.

“Whatever their motivation, the intent of the defendants and the direction of their actions, placed others at risk. Thankfully, we’ll never know if they’d have followed through with their plan. We’re grateful that people were concerned enough to report the boys behaviour, a fuller picture of which ultimately led to their arrest.

“Young people in particular are vulnerable to external influences, both in the real world and online, which can shape their views and influence their actions.

"While these influences are very difficult to control, it’s important we’re alive to the display of attitudes or behaviour which concern us and have the confidence to report them. On this occasion, those who came forward may ultimately have saved lives.”

The two boys will be sentenced in July.