A drug addict burglar was granted his wish to be locked up yesterday when a judge sentenced him to two years.

David Luck, 20, saw no future for himself if he remained free and a heroin addict, said Stephen Constantine, defending.

Luck was caught trying to climb through the bedroom window of a house in Durham Road, Stockton, while a woman and her two children were out, Teesside Crown Court heard.

When a neighbour asked him what he was doing there, he replied: "I'm just asking for a fag."

Mr Constantine told the judge, Recorder Philip Hallam: "He has the beginnings of what might turn out to be an unenviable record, and it's hoped that what Your Honour does to him today may put a stop to it.

"He is a heroin addict and he knows that if he does not break the habit he will have no hope for the future.

"He has come to court today in order to get some help. It's a curious form of help, inviting somebody to lock you up. Effectively, curiously, I invite you to help him in that regard."

Luck, of Wrensfield Road, Stockton, was sent to a young offender's institution for two years after he pleaded guilty to attempted burglary on August 26 last year.

His mother wept in the public gallery as he was led away.