A 16-year-old boy stole cash, keys and cars in a series of burglaries and thefts, a court was told.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, entered a house in Bailey Close, Botley via the front door. 

He stole a handbag containing £125 cash, house keys, car keys and the owner's Citroen C5. 

When the victim went to cancel her cars, she noticed two fraudulent transactions on eBay worth £18.50 and £31.99. 

The car was recovered a month later in St Mary's being driven on cloned plates.

Then the boy entered a house in Adelaide Road, Southampton just two days later whilst the owners slept upstairs. 

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He stole car keys, a laptop, a wallet and a grey Kia. 

The car was recovered with the teen being linked to the incidents when his phone was seized on October 12, 2021. 

It also showed had set up a fake eBay account in the name ‘John Smith’ on the day of the first burglary.

The boy pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary, theft of a vehicle and fraud. 

He was jailed for 12 months at Southampton Youth Court and banned from driving for 18 months. 

He was also given a Criminal Behaviour Order stopping him associating with seven others and giving him a curfew between 9pm and 6am when he is released. 

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Chief Inspector Marcus Kennedy, deputy district commander for Southampton, described him as a "blight on our city".

“Giving children custodial sentences is uncommon in our justice system so I hope this sends out a message that we will tirelessly pursue the minority of young people who think they can commit these sort of crimes with little consequence.

“He filmed himself bragging about his actions – but he won’t find it so funny now he has been jailed.

“Hopefully his sentence will give him the opportunity to reflect on what he has done and set himself on the path to a brighter future.”

The burglaries took place in August 2021. 

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