A teenager who roamed the streets searching for items to steal as he was ‘low on cash’ has been locked up.

Dylan Mawdsley went into an unlocked house on Prospect Street in Great Harwood and stole a 40-inch television worth £400 while the woman who lived there was inside.

Burnley Crown Court heard how the 19-year-old later sold the television for £100 before being arrested by police and making ‘full and frank admissions’.

Mawdsley, of Queen Street, Great Harwood, pleaded guilty to burglary and was given a five-month term at a young offenders institution and ordered to pay a £180 criminal courts charge.

Kimberley Ombrusik, prosecuting, told the court how the incident happened between 11.30pm on Friday, June 12 and 2.50am on Satudray, June 13 this year and the occupant had left the door unlocked as she was waiting for a friend to return. When the friend arrived they noticed the television had been stolen from the wall and the rear door was ‘wide open’.

Miss Ombrusik told the court that Mawdsley was later arrested on June 21 and ‘surprised’ the police with his ‘out of the blue’ admissions.

She said: “He provided the police with further information that they might otherwise not have had. For example that he was under the influence of alcohol and had taken the decision earlier in the night to go out and search for items to steal because he was low on cash. He also said he initially went into the property thinking there was no-one was inside, but once he was inside he was aware there was somebody was there, stole the television and made his escape.”

The court heard how Mawdsley has four previous convictions for nine offences all taking place ‘over a very short period of time’ since November last year.

Sentencing, Judge Paul Camp said: “You have not only pleaded for which you are entitled full credit, you have effectively put your head in a noose.

“If you hadn’t been so frank with police when out of the blue you admitted what you had done, you wouldn’t have been before the court at all.

“I think you have learned your lesson by this. I hope that your life will take a turn for the better.”