The deaths of four young Bradford joy-riders whose behaviour had spiralled beyond control has reopened the debate over ‘Broken Britain’ – the theory that many inner-city Council estates are stuck in a mire of crime, fractured families and feral youth.

James McClusky, 21, Robert Lynn, 16, and Thomas Tilleard, 15, all of Allerton or Lower Grange, and Craig James, 17, of Holme Wood, were killed instantly when the stolen Subaru Impreza they were travelling in crashed in Killinghall Road, Laisterdyke, while being pursued by police.

Although their upbringings on some of Bradford’s toughest estates were not identical, a number of recurring themes emerge from an in-depth study of their backgrounds.

A leading Bradford academic said their descent into increasingly serious criminality stemmed from the complex interaction between the problems they had been born with and the social environment in which they were brought up.

But Professor Jenny Pearce, of the University of Bradford’s department of Peace Studies, said the theory that the young men’s problems would inevitably result in tragedy was “unnecessarily pessimistic”. She said: “With the right care, support and social environment, children can be helped to overcome some of problems that, unless they are dealt with, can lead to later violence.

“It seemed to me that these children had none of that support that could have enabled them to deal with these problems. They had broken families, it seemed like they had parents with low educational achievement and they lived in an impoverished environment.

“Why are we not putting so much more effort into helping children who grow up in problematic environments to help them overcome the problems they have?”

Prof Pearce said it seemed that some of the young men had shown early signs of aggressive and violent behaviour. She pointed to the “age curve” and said it was vital that children with mental health issues or anti-social behaviour problems should be helped at an early age.

Prof Pearce said it was not a case of blaming the parents because she pointed out that some of the families had their own history of problems to deal with.

She said: “How can we as a society find a way to give attention early on to people suffering a range of problems from multiple deprivation and mental health?”

James, Thomas and Craig were all from broken homes, having endured the separation of their parents during their formative years.

James, who suffered from autism, and Thomas, who had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), had both been expelled from mainstream schools and had been sent to Pupil Referral Units.

In the case of Thomas, his mum Linda Tilleard admitted he had become unruly to the extent that she was unable to control him.

He started to steal money from his mum’s purse at the age of nine and his offending escalated when he became involved with theft and criminal damage at the age of 12.

He then went through a phase of lighting fires in his bedroom and, on occasions, assaulted his mum.

As a result of his criminal behaviour, he had been allocated a probation service worker and had been assigned a family intervention officer.

In the case of Craig, his parents separated about 12 years ago. He never had a proper job, but received £94 a fortnight in hardship payments.

In a background statement read out in the Coroner’s court, his mum, Kim Rushworth, said a man on the estate had taught him how to steal and drive cars and motorbikes.

Meanwhile, James, the oldest of the four, saw the marriage of his parents end after two years.

When he was nine months old, James became ill with meningitis and tests showed hearing problems. He was later found to be profoundly deaf.

James rarely went to school and, when he did, caused disruption in the classroom.

His behavioural problems were also in evidence at home where, after one argument, he broke up his bed mattress and burned it.

Amanda Manogue, his mother, said she thought he had ADHD, but he was diagnosed with autism at the age of 14. After being expelled from St Bede’s School, Heaton, at the age of 15, he ended up attending a referral unit in Halifax, where the one-to-one tuition seemed to calm him down.

James was unable to hold down a regular job for any length of time due to his behaviour towards others.

James was known to the police for causing damage. He was charged with robbery in 2007 and served three months of a nine-month sentence. He was then given a security tag and a curfew.

Mrs Manogue said he could be a loving person at times and would help anyone out, but he was easily lead. He continued to get into trouble for car-related crime.

She said: “We told him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen.”