A TEENAGER who set fire to two houses on a building site and caused more than £35,000 worth of damage has been spared jail.

Magistrates told the 15-year-old he was "very, very lucky" to avoid a prison sentence after he was convicted of a second arson offence in a year.

The youth, who cannot be identified in the Press, was ordered to carry out 24 hours community service at Darlington Magistrates Court today.

He was also given a 24 month supervision order and his parents were ordered to pay £300 in compensation.

Police arrested the teenager and a second youth - who has pleaded not guilty to arson - after their nicknames were found scrawled in wet cement at the building site in Firthmoor, Darlington.

Jacqueline Gibson, prosecuting, told the court that the boy visited the building site with a group of friends on the night of June 6.

The semi-detached houses were basically shells at the time with frames, scaffolding and boards surrounding them, she said.

The defendant later told the police in interview that he and several other youths went to the site to find wood to build a den.

The defendant admitted that he set fire to an airbag, which was filled with polystyrene, with a lighter. He says that an other male took it from him and threw it into the building causing it to catch fire.

He does accept that the house would have gone up in flames because of this.

The properties, which were owned by construction firm Haslam Homes, were worth an estimated £36,638.

The court heard that the boy, from the Firthmoor area of Darlington, had a previous conviction for arson after he admitted to starting a fire at school last year.

Lucy Shuttleworth, mitigating, said: "A significant amount of damage was caused but it wasnt at a house that was occupied.

"He did not go there with the intention of causing a threat to anybody's life."

Magistrate Barbara Carter told the teenager: "We have taken a long time to decide what to do because you were very close to going away. Consider yourself very, very lucky."

The youth was also given a three month curfew under which he must stay at home from 7pm to 7am every day.