A TEENAGE thug dubbed Laughing Boy is back on the streets after notching up his 139th arrest from his latest crime spree.

After appearing before magistrates yesterday - for the third time in ten days - the youth, one of Britain's most prolific young offenders, was once again released on bail.

The 16-year-old from Sunderland has been charged 66 times by police since the age of 11.

He was dubbed Laughing Boy after sniggering through court appearances, knowing he could not be detained.

He was picked up shortly after being released from a two-month sentence at Wetherby Young Offenders' Institution.

The 5ft 5in yob has more than 23 convictions for 46 separate offences, including assault, robbery, theft, criminal damage and burglary.

Since the end of January he has been arrested 14 times - despite serving three separate custodial sentences - and has completed a hat-trick of appearances before Sunderland magistrates in just ten days.

In the latest incident - for which he is still facing charges - he is accused of smashing a police patrol car's windscreen in Lindsey Close, Hendon, Sunderland, 24 hours after being released on bail.

The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before Sunderland magistrates yesterday.

He faces charges of going equipped, resisting arrest and criminal damage. He is also expected to be charged with assault, affray and house burglary during a two-day reign of terror in Sunderland last week.

Magistrates, who can only lock up juveniles for serious offences, were forced to release him on conditional bail for two weeks to an address in the south of the city.

The teenager is one of a growing band of child criminals who show total contempt for the law, with 30 of his arrests linked to breaching court bail conditions.

Last year, his details were passed on to Home Secretary Jack Straw as part of a bid to name the youth.

Northumbria Police have revealed that 15 out of the region's 98 persistent young offenders breached bail at least ten times each, while stealing cars and burgling houses. They were responsible for about 4,500 crimes a year, about three per cent of all crime in the force area