A TEENAGER who burned down two half-built houses was caught after police noticed his name written in cement.

The fire - which caused £37,000 worth of damage - had destroyed all forensic evidence.

But police returning to the site to investigate noticed a number of nicknames written in some cement.

Inquiries led them to a 15-year-old boy, from Darlington.

Yesterday, the boy, who cannot be named because of legal reasons, pleaded guilty to arson at Darlington Youth Court.

Derek Walton, prosecuting, told the court the "very aggressive" fire began at about 5.45pm on Wednesday, June 6, at the Haslam Homes site on the town's Firthmoor estate. The two half-built houses were part of a 109-housing development.

CCTV operators and estate residents telephoned the emergency services after noticing a large amount of smoke coming from the timber frames.

Mr Walton said witnesses told the fire brigade they had seen four or five youths in the area at the time.

The fire, which took 30 minutes to bring under control, was immediately treated as suspicious.

Builders had finished work for the day and the site was empty. However, the firefighters stopped the wind spreading flames to nearby buildings.

Mr Walton said: "On the evening of the fire, police had to leave it to the fire brigade and let them deal with it.

"Police returned the next day, and though there was very little forensic evidence, there were several nicknames written into the cement at the base of another house that was being built.

"Further inquiries were made in relation to the names, and the boy's name was put forward."

The boy was interviewed by police and admitted being part of a group that caused the fire. He has one previous conviction for arson.

Chris Bunting, for the youth, said his comments would wait until a pre-sentence report was completed.

The report will be presented at a hearing at Darlington Youth Court, on Friday, September 14. The boy was released on unconditional bail.

Haslam Homes is seeking compensation for the destroyed houses.

A 16-year-old, from Darlington, pleaded not guilty to the same offence at Darlington Youth Court yesterday. His case was adjourned for a pre-trial review on September 28.