A TEENAGE boy broke into his mother's house with a friend and stole £1,300 worth of alcohol, tobacco and cash before embarking on a spending spree.

The youths, from Darlington, appeared before magistrates in the town yesterday.

The court heard that the friend returned to the same house later and assaulted a woman, who was heavily pregnant with triplets.

The boys, aged 14 and 15, pleaded guilty to the offences, which happened last month.

The youths, who are in social services care, broke into the house on August 9 after smashing a downstairs window.

The boys knew the house was fitted with a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system, but removed and destroyed the tapes before carrying out the burglary.

Prosecutor Peter Smith said: "The boys made their way upstairs and broke down a door to a bedroom, where they knew they would find alcohol, rolling tobacco and money."

After taking the items, the boys spent hundreds of pounds on games consoles, mobile telephones, skateboards and sweets.

They hid the items they had bought in bushes near to their care home, which were soon found by staff and reported to the police.

The 15-year-old went back to his friend's mother's house four days later.

The court heard she had suspected her son and his friend had been responsible for the burglary and questioned him about where the CCTV tapes had been hidden.

Mr Smith said: "He told her they had been thrown in some bushes to the rear of the property and as she went to recover them, he punched her.

"The woman is heavily pregnant and thought to be expecting triplets."

The court heard this was not the first time the boy had broken into his mother's home. He was given an 18-month supervision order.

However, the magistrates believed his friend's case was more serious, as he had admitted the assault, burglary and an unrelated charge of criminal damage to a car on August 14.

The bench asked for a full report to be completed, which could lead to the teenager being sent to a detention centre.

He is due to appear at Darlington Magistrates' Court for sentencing on Friday.