A teenager has been given a second chance after breaking into a secondary school and stealing iPads.

Bradley Sutcliffe also appeared before the courts after he made threats to firebomb someone’s house and leave them inside to ‘burn alive’.

Paul Brookwell, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said Sutcliffe was 17 when turned up at a house on Varley Street, Colne, after an argument broke out between some people living there and some people he knew on April 18.

Sutcliffe, who is now 18, was seen with a handle of a weapon down his trousers which was believed to be a knife but was later discovered to be an axe.

He shouted he would ‘firebomb the house and they will burn alive’ before saying he was leaving to get some spirits.

The family were left ‘terrified’ by his threats as they knew he had a history of arson, and believed he would come back to burn their house.

Sutcliffe, of Thorn Grove, Colne, was again 17 when he broke into Pendle Vale College on August 26 and took nine iPad tablets and a hi-vis coat worth £2,299.50.

The crime was committed with an accomplice, with one of the pair spraying foam around the school.

Sutcliffe’s case was sent to the courts after his 18th birthday, meaning he was tried as an adult instead of a youth.

Mitigating, Joe Allman said Sutcliffe was a youth when he committed the offences and for the judge to consider what kind of verdict he would have received had he been tried in the lower court.

Mr Allman also told the Judge Sutcliffe was wanting to go to college to study construction.

Mr Allman said: “He is only 18. His background has been as difficult as they come but his mother and her partner have come to court to support him.

“He has ADHD and has some learning difficulties. His impulsivity is caused through these difficulties.”

District Judge Jack McGarva handed Sutcliffe a 10-month sentence, suspended for 18 months.

He must also complete 40 days rehabilitation activity requirement days and 100 hours of unpaid work.