A NOTORIOUS teenage offender, dubbed Lambton Worm Boy by police, has received a 12-month custodial sentence for his latest misdemeanours.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was nicknamed after the legendary beast of medieval folklore that terrorised the people of Chester-le-Street and surrounding area.

Lambton Worm Boy hit the headlines in a high-profile incident in May 2000, when he was 12. A section of Front Street, Chester-le-Street had to be sealed off as the bare-chested boy threw slates from shop roofs.

His latest bout of offending included confronting police with a samurai sword, at a house in Chester-le-Street, in April, sparking a 24-hour hunt.

Officers answering complaints of damage to house doors in the Sixth Avenue and Third Avenue areas called at a property in Fifth Avenue, where they found him in the front room, armed with the 3ft sword.

The officers retreated and radioed for assistance while the youth fled via the back door.

Further reports were made to police of an armed youth wandering the area later that night, but a search, including use of the police helicopter, drew a blank.

It was only 24 hours later that he was arrested at a house in the nearby village of Bournmoor.

He was accused of affray and two counts of causing criminal damage, for which he received a six-month detention order at Consett Youth Court earlier this month after admitting the charges.

Following a separate incident, he was accused of burglary at a house in Woodstone Village, Fencehouses, also near Chester-le-Street.

The case was due to go before Durham Crown Court this week, but it was sent back to be dealt with by the youth court due to a legal technicality.

He made a further admission to the burglary charge and was sentenced to a 12-month detention and training order by the bench, at the latest hearing in Consett, County Durham.

The court heard that in the house break-in, in Norham Crescent, he took belongings including a Hoover vacuum cleaner, a set of car keys, ornaments, dish washer tablets and £280 in cash.