According to Conservative research based on quarterly figures provided in response to a Parliamentary question, 156 children who offended in 2007/08 had previously served six or more custodial sentences.
The figures also showed that nine out of 10 children who served three or more custodial sentences re-offended within a year, committing almost 7,000 offences between them.
A total of 204,404 children convicted during the period (97 per cent) had no previous custodial sentences.
Shadow justice secretary Dominic Grieve said: "It should be a matter of national shame that we have children in this country who drift in and out of prison three or more times before they are even 18."
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