Anzac Day terror plot!

Image copyright Julia Quenzler Image caption The boy appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court earlier this year A plot by a Blackburn teenager to attack an Anzac Day parade in Australia would "in all probability" have caused a number of deaths if it had not been stopped, a court has heard.

At a sentencing hearing, Manchester Crown Court heard the boy encouraged a Melbourne man to behead police officers at a parade in April.

He had previously threatened to cut the throat of his teacher, the court heard.

The 15-year-old has pleaded guilty to one count of inciting terrorism.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is thought to be the youngest Briton guilty of a terror offence.

His lawyer said his offences were serious, but he should no longer be considered dangerous.

'Martyrdom video'The boy was radicalised over the internet by Islamic State propaganda, and formulated the plot "from the bedroom of his parents' suburban home", prosecutor Paul Greaney QC said, outlining the case.

Anzac Day, held on 25 April each year, commemorates the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps' World War One battle in Gallipoli, and this year marked its centenary.

The Lancashire teen sent thousands of online messages to an alleged Australian jihadist named Sevdet Besim, including one suggesting he get his "first taste of beheading" by attacking "a proper lonely person", the court heard.

"There is no doubt" the pair planned to carry out the attack, and also made references to the production of a martyrdom video to use for propaganda purposes, Mr Greaney said.

Image copyright AP Image caption Parades, like this year's event in Sydney, take place across Australia on Anzac Day The court was told a well known Islamic State recruiter - Abu Khaled al-Cambodi- had instigated contact between the defendant and Mr Besim.

Mr Greaney said that was "indicative of the serious nature of the plot".

The court heard that in an exchange on 19 March, the defendant presented Mr Besim with three options - a gun attack on the police, a car attack on the police or a knife attack on the police.

Mr Greaney said: "Mr Besim expressed a preference for a combination of a car and knife attack and (the defendant) advised him to buy a machete and sharpen it, run over a police officer and then decapitate him."

The defendant also referred to himself as "a planner" and suggested he was involved in multiple operations, the court was told.

'Religious convictions'The Muslim defendant was "undoubtedly a troubled young person" who had had a "difficult" upbringing and was regularly excluded from school, Mr Greaney said.

The prosecutor said:

He had "strong religious convictions" and was disruptive when he attended a large secular school where most of the pupils were whiteHe praised Osama bin Laden and stated his own desire to become a jihadist and a martyrAfter being referred to counter-extremism project Channel and moved to a new school, he threatened a male teacher, saying he would "cut his throat and watch him bleed to death"Another male teacher logged a comment from the youngster that he was plotting to kill someoneIn 2014, the defendant pushed his phone into the face of a teacher, which the court heard was playing a video showing dead and bloody bodies on the floorHe told a teacher: "You are on my beheading list".Mr Greaney added: "He also spoke of his desire to be a suicide bomber, stating that if he had to choose where to detonate his bomb it would be on a plane in order that he could maximise the fatalities."

A second referral to Channel took place in November 2014 but the youngster allegedly continued to threaten to kill teachers. He also reportedly described the Charlie Hebdo attackers as his heroes.

'Twitter celebrity'James Pickup, QC, defending, said he accepted "the seriousness of the offence he committed over a period of nine days in March of this year."

He told the court the defendant started accessing Islamic State propaganda after getting a smart phone and quickly built up a following online.

But the boy should not now be considered "dangerous" for the purposes of sentencing, he added.

The hearing is expected to conclude on Friday.