A DEAF burglar who did not hear a teenage girl's scream as he raided her home was jailed yesterday.

Frank Woods, 31, was not wise enough to know his limits, said Paul Cleasby, defending.

The 13-year-old heard Woods hammering on the front door of her home in Helmsley Street, Hartlepool, and then a loud bang as he smashed his way inside. She hid in a bedroom and rang her mother at work, Teesside Crown Court was told.

The girl screamed down the phone when Woods walked into the room, but he told police that he did not hear her and that he fled empty handed when he saw her shadow.

A neighbour comforted the girl until her mother returned home, said Shaun Dodds, prosecuting.

The neighbour saw Woods at the door and picked him out in an identity parade, even though he had shaved his head.

Anti-burglary paint from the house was also found on his clothing.

The girl said she was afraid to be in the house alone and was nervous whenever someone knocked at the door.

Judge George Moorhouse said she must have been terrified by the experience.

Woods, of Raby Gardens, Hartlepool, was jailed for 33 months after pleading guilty to burglary with intent to steal on July 22.