LONDON: Two boys who were aged 12 when they killed a 19-year-old man in a `horrific` machete attack in central England last year were sentenced on Friday to a minimum of eight years and six months in custody.

The boys, now 13, are the youngest people to be convicted for murder in Britain since two 10-year-olds killed toddler James Bulger in 1993, one of the most infamous murders in the country`s recent history.

The victim in last year`s attack, Shawn Seesahai, was stabbed in the back, legs and skull in a park in Wolverhampton in November. The court heard the wound to his back was 23 centimetres deep, penetrating his lungs and heart.-Reuters