TWO yobs aged 16 went on a burglary spree at homes in the same street after knocking back a cocktail of whisky and Valium, a city court has been told.

Teenage tearaways David Rice and Charlie Mitchell were arrested and brought to court the next day — but after being released on bail, they took more Valium and broke into a garage that same night.

Now a judge has imposed a 12-month custodial sentence on Rice, from Efford, who has made 20 previous court appearances and is the subject of an antisocial behaviour order. He was caught by a police officer running off with a television set after the first spate of burglaries.

His partner in crime Charlie Mitchell, with ten previous appearances and made subject of an Asbo when he was 13, walked free with a two-year supervision order and a three-month curfew.

District Judge Paul Farmer, sitting at Plymouth Magistrates' Court, told Rice: "Your record is absolutely appalling. You have shown total disregard to all the advice and help offered to you and you have shown a persistent and consistent failure to comply with any community order."

Mr Farmer agreed to an application from The Herald to lift the usual anonymity given to under-18s in court because of the pair's regular offending and its impact on the community.

Rice, of Derwent Avenue in Efford, and Mitchell, of Mount Gould Avenue, admitted four joint charges. They pleaded guilty to burglary of a house, burglary of a shed and attempted burglary of another shed, all in Erme Gardens in Efford, on June 23. They also admitted the burglary of a garage in nearby Arun Close the next night.

Rice admitted resisting a police officer called to arrest him for the burglaries on June 23, and a further charge of threatening behaviour towards the same officer that day.

The youth admitted three breaches of his antisocial behaviour order on consecutive days from June 23 to June 25.

Two of the breaches involved getting together with Mitchell, named in the Asbo imposed by city magistrates in 2008.

Rice also admitted possessing less than a gramme of cannabis on June 23, and Mitchell admitted handling stolen goods on the same date. He was caught with three credit cards belonging to other people.

Gareth Warden, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said a resident in Erme Gardens had been woken by the sound of breaking glass, saw two youths in a neighbouring garden and called the police.

The witness then saw the youths cross the street and enter a house opposite, using the lights from their mobile phones to look around the dark house.

Officers arrived to find Rice in the street carrying a flat-screen television set. He tried to brush an officer aside, dropping the set and a bottle of drink.

They struggled and fell against a vehicle and Rice made offensive threats to the officer and his children. The officer injured his shoulder in the struggle.

Mr Warden said Mitchell admitted in interview that the pair had shared a litre bottle of whisky and had taken seven Valium tablets each before going out on their burglary spree.

The pair appeared before Plymouth Youth Court the next day and were released on bail, but that night, police were called after reports a gang of youths had kicked in a garage door in Arun Close at about 10.30pm. Mitchell and Rice were arrested at the scene.

Mitchell again told police he had spent the day with Rice after they appeared in court. They again took Valium and drank alcohol.

Sarah Glanville, for Mitchell, said he was sorry and wanted to write a letter of apology to the residents.

He had moved away from Efford, where he had been in trouble, to another part of the city and had not committed an offence for two years, she said, but Mitchell, who had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, fell in with Rice which led to their crime spree.

Bill LaHive, for Rice, said he had found four weeks on remand at a young offenders' institution "horrible" but had progressed very well with his education behind bars.

Rice was given a 12-month detention and training order and will serve half that time in custody.

Mitchell was given a two-year youth referral order with a three-month curfew and a three-month extended activity requirement.