A BOY who bludgeoned two pupils with three claw hammers as they slept at a ￡41,000-a-year private school has been jailed.

       The teen, then 16, was "on a mission" to protect himself from a zombie apocalypse when he carried out the attack wearing only boxer shorts.

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       Police at Blundell's School following the attack Credit: Neil Hope 5

       The boy claimed he was sleepwalking at the time Credit: Neil Hope 5

       The boarding school has fees of ￡41,000 a year Credit: PA

       He also attacked a housemaster after arming himself with the weapons at Blundell's School in Tiverton, Devon, in the early hours of June 9 last year.

       The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted to assaulting the teenagers but claimed he was sleepwalking at the time.

       However, he was found guilty of attempted murder at Exeter Crown Court in June earlier this year.

       The boy was today jailed for life with a minimum term of 12 years.

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       The court heard he armed himself three hammers and waited for the two pupils to fall asleep before launching his unprovoked attack shortly after 1am.

       They were sleeping in cabin-style beds when they awoke to find the boy had climbed up on their beds and began assaulting them.

       Housemaster Henry Roffe-Silvester, who was also asleep at the time, heard the commotion and rushed from his own quarters to investigate.

       When he entered the room, he found a silhouetted figure who turned towards him.

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       The boy, now 17, then turned his attention to the teacher and struck him over the head with a hammer six times.

       Another student told of how he heard Mr Roffe-Silvester shouting and swearing, before fleeing the bedroom and calling 999 believing there was an intruder.

       The two teenage victims suffered fractured skulls, injuries to their ribs and spleen, a punctured lung and internal bleeding.

       They are both said to be suffering "long-term consequences" following the attack, though have no recollection of the incident.

       The boy insisted he was sleepwalking at the time, meaning he would not be found guilty of attempted murder by reason of insanity.

       But a jury found the defendant guilty of three counts of attempted murder after 40 hours of deliberation.

       During the trial, James Dawes KC, prosecuting, told jurors: "The investigation has uncovered an obsession that the defendant had with one of the boys, an obsession with hammers as weapons, and an obsession with killing and killers and the killing of children.

       "He had motive, that he had planned something like this, thought about it in advance, and he was awake.

       "He was using his iPad right up to the moment before the attack."

       But relatives of the boy told of how he had a history of sleepwalking.

       Expert Dr Mark Pressman also described the attack as "a textbook example of sleepwalking violence".

       However, another expert Dr John O'Reilly said he did not believe the boy was asleep as a sleepwalker does not initiate violence because it is triggered by noise or touch.

       Giving evidence in his own trial, the boy said: "I knew something really bad had gone on and everyone was looking towards me."

       "I didn't remember doing anything so the only rational thing I was thinking was that I was sleepwalking."

       He said he kept two hammers by his bed "for protection" from the "zombie apocalypse".

       Speaking after the sentencing today, Detective Inspector Dave Egan said: "This was an unprovoked attack on two schoolboys as they slept in their beds.

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       "The assaults were both brutal and savage and I have no doubt that his intent was to kill.

       “Our detectives worked tirelessly to prove that the offender had indeed been fully conscious when committing this horrendous attack, which had been months in the planning.”

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       The two pupils have been left with 'long-term consequences' following the shock attack Credit: Neil Hope 5

       The attack happened at the private school in June last year Credit: Neil Hope