A 16-YEAR-OLD boy has been given "his first and last chance" after he successfully appealed against his sentence for burglary.
The first-time offender, from High Wycombe, had been given a four-month detention and training order by Wycombe magistrates on March 13, when he admitted burgling a house in St Edmunds Close, Booker, and stealing speakers and letters, worth £160.
But a judge and two magistrates at Aylesbury Crown Court, on March 23, allowed the appeal and substituted a three-month Action Plan Order, a form of probation and supervision.
The burglary haul was recovered after the boy gave himself up. He had initially tried to flee police.
Prosecutor David Elliott said the culprit admitted going out with the intention of breaking into the house and would have sold the items stolen for cash to pay money he owed.
But the boy's barrister, Mark Ruffell, said the youth was genuinely sorry for breaking the law for the first time and claimed he would not re-offend.
Judge Terence Maher said: "We feel that custody for a first time offence and the fact you gave yourself up and admitted it to the police appears to be a little harsh.
"This is your first and last chance. There will be no more."
In addition to giving the Action Plan Order, the tribunal also ordered the boy to pay £150 in compensation.
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