A THIRTEEN-year-old boy who burgled four homes -two of them on Boxing Day - is behind bars for six months.

The thief, who already has a long record for dishonesty, had been given an Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme just days before and had been warned it was his last chance, Burnley Youth Court heard.

The Burnley boy sobbed as he was handcuffed to a custody officer and led away to start a detention and training order.

The bench told the defendant, who was also resentenced for theft and burglary, he had been told what would happen if he flouted the community order. They added he posed a risk of reoffending.

The justices also slapped a three month parenting order on his mother and told her if she did not attend the course she would be committing a criminal offence.

The boy admitted two burglaries and asked for two offences to be considered.

The court heard the boy, who had 14 previous convictions, entered houses through insecure doors in the daytime and confronted victims while looking for cash.

David Lawson, defending, said the boy's father had turned back to drugs misuse because of problems with the teenager and his mother had been tackling her own demons and had trouble coping with him.

The solicitor urged the court to take into account the boy's "vulnerability".