A TEENAGE burglar who broke into a woman’s home in the middle of the night before making off with her TV has been locked up for 20 months.

Ryan Hall, 18, entered Sacha Gilmore’s house in Cwmbran in the early hours of July 9, a court heard.

She texted her friend Abbie Carter who found Hall with the TV under his arm in her garden, Newport Crown Court heard.

Her friend recognised Hall and hours later Ms Gilmore was able to find him at a property where he was asleep on a sofa, the court was told.

Ms Gilmore confronted him to which he replied: “I didn’t know it was your house Sach, if I knewI wouldn’t have done it.,” the court heard.

It was told Hall had an “awful record” with 20 offences including 12 for dishonesty or theft.

But Scott Bowen, for the defence, said on Friday [August 2] his client had been influenced by his father, who has been serving time for burglary.

Judge Richard Williams sent Hall to a Young Offender Institution for 20 months after he pleaded guilty to burglary.

He told him: “This is your first appearance before the crown court and I take into account your relative immaturity and your age.”

The court heard how Ms Gilmore texted her friend from her home in Orchard Lane at around 2.20am, saying “Somebody is in my house downstairs”.

She traced Hall at around 9am but was unable to get back her iPhone 5 which had gone missing.

Mr Bowen said his client had displayed a “lack of consequential thinking” but added that he planned to spend his time in custody to turn his life around.

Judge Williams said Hall must serve no more than half his sentence before he can be released on licence.