A TEENAGER reached through a window and stole a jewellery box belonging to a university student.
Lee Day was on his way from a drinking session when he committed the "impulsive" crime, a court heard.
The 18-year-old was spotted loitering near the flat on live CCTV and was quickly caught by a security guard.
Day, of Fremantle Crescent, Middlesbrough, admitted burglary and was given a suspended prison sentence.
The victim - at home for Christmas - said it has put her off ever wanting to live in the town after her studies.
Judge Peter Armstrong told Day: "This was your first dwelling house burglary - it had better be your last."
John Nixon, mitigating, said Day saw the window to the accommodation had been tampered with and reached in.
Mr Nixon described it as "a bizarre incident" and said: "It was an offence committed purely on impulse."
Day's four-month sentence was suspended for two years, and he will have to do 150 hours of unpaid work.
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