A BOY aged only 16 carried out a shocking spree of offending including a burglary which left an elderly woman “afraid to be in her own home”.

The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons due to his young age, appeared before the West Yorkshire Youth Court, at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court.

He faced a raft of serious offences, dating back to March this year and many which were committed in the Bradford district.

On March 25, he assaulted a male at a cinema, then on April 29, he stole sweets worth £15 from a B&M store; damaged a tub of paint worth £19.99; assaulted a male in the store and was caught with a knife.

Then on June 19, he stole sandwiches and soft drinks worth £18 from a Tesco store and returned on June 22, when he stole a bottle of Smirnoff vodka worth £20. Two days later, he was back in the supermarket and stole three bottles of Au vodka worth £120.

On June 26, he attempted to rob a male of his mobile phone at a Morrisons store.

While at the store, he also assaulted a female.

On July 12, he stole car keys from a property; stole a car; stole a wallet; used a stolen bank card at McDonalds in the district as well as at a petrol station and newsagents.

Then on July 16, he stole cash and jewellery from a property in Kirklees and also attempted to steal a van. Two days later, in Bradford, he stole a mobile phone from a property.

On July 18, he failed to surrender to custody at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court

And on August 15, in Bradford, he broke into a flat and stole two mobile phones and bank cards

The boy was sentenced to an 18-month detention and training order on September 12.

Court documents state that “the offence, or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it, was so serious that only a sentence of detention can be justified”.

They point out the scale of his offending, the fact that some were committed while on bail and that he has failed to attend court and comply with the Youth Offending Team.

The court documents add that he failed to comply with a curfew while on bail and keeps going missing “which makes him a danger to himself”.

They say the Youth Offending Team has no faith he will comply with “anything”.

One of the burglaries was committed at a sheltered housing complex, where he entered the room of an elderly lady who is a double amputee and stole her property.

“She is now afraid to be in her own home,” court documents say.

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