The schoolboy who burned down a Scout hut in Patcham should have been sent to prison, according to the chairman of the group.

Ron Murray, chairman of the 30th Brighton Scout Group, says the teenager destroyed 57 years of history and a building and equipment worth £160,000.

He is furious the teenager received only a two-year supervision order from the courts.

The boy, who is aged under 16 and cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of reckless arson.

Mr Murray said: "This boy's crime has damaged a hut worth £140,000 and equipment worth £20,000 and cost us 57 years of history.

"The 100 or so Scouts we have with us at the moment, their parents and our Scout leaders as well as all those who have been involved with the group in the past are devastated.

"This boy ought to have gone to prison. People like him are a menace to society. He should go to prison and be removed from society for a period of time."

However, James Hunter, the solicitor for the juvenile, said the boy and his mother had contacted the Scout group and offered them money.

He said: "The boy wrote to the Scout group first and offered to give them the money he earns from a work placement.

"His mother also wrote in and offered financial assistance within her means. She also offered to meet the Scout group but all these offers were turned down."

But Mr Murray said he did not feel the boy and his mother would have been able to meet the costs of replacing the hut in Vale Road.

He said: "He did say he had saved some pocket money. But we are talking about £140,000 so this was just a token suggestion."

Mr Murray is considering taking civil action against the boy and his family to recover damages.

The group is worried it will not be able to rebuild the hut, which it has occupied since 1956, after moving from its original premises in 1943.

The hut was owned by Brighton and Hove Council and leased to the group.

But Mr Murray believes the council has insured the hut for only £68,000, not the £140,000 he understands it was worth.

He said: "We have been asking the council what it is going to do to come up with that extra money for the rebuilding but we have still not heard back.

"We have applied for planning consent but we can't take it any further until we have secured the necessary costs.

"As the tenants we have also had to pay £8,500 to clear the site after the hut was demolished as well as surveyors' fees and architects' fees."

A council spokesman said: "The matter is in the hands of our insurers. We wrote to them again yesterday and we hope to have a decision about the hut in the next couple of weeks."