A teenage boy has admitted throwing a large seat 50ft (15m) off the top floor of an east London shopping centre for an internet prank, narrowly missing shoppers.
He and another youth were arrested after a video of the incident filmed at Westfield in Stratford on 1 March went viral.
The two 15-year-olds, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have appeared at Stratford Magistrates’ Court, where the youth who threw the seat pleaded guilty to criminal damage and recklessly causing a public nuisance. He has been bailed until he is sentenced on 13 August.
The teenager accused of filming the incident denied the charges and will next appear in court on 24 September.
The video of the incident allegedly filmed by one of the boys was shown to the court, which showed a hooded youth throwing a heavy blue seat over a glass balustrade before the pair ran away swearing in the opposite direction.
Prosecutor Elizabeth Ajayi said the seat, taken from a public area of the shopping mall, was thrown from the top floor.
“It’s fortunate that nobody was injured,” she said.
The pair had carried out previous stunts, such as “throwing objects off bridges at trains”, the court was told.
Both boys admitted their involvement in police interviews, Ms Ajayi added.
In a victim impact statement, a Westfield security officer said there had been “unease” among customers since the incident.
The boy who threw the seat told police: “It’s not that deep, it did not hit no-one,” the prosecutor added.
A previous charge of criminal damage that recklessly endangered life was dropped.
