A 16-year-old boy has been returned to custody following his arrest for threatening to kill four gardaí.

A homeless Dublin teenager who took part in a spate of muggings and theft offences has been detained for six months.

The State’s detention centres for under-16s do not have any sentence places available at present, the Dublin Children’s Court heard yesterday.

Three 15-year-old boys, who were part of a gang that attacked gardaí with kicks, bites, punches, stones and bottles and hit a female garda in the stomach with a brick, have been remanded in custody to await sentence.