NOTORIOUS teenage criminal Shaun McKerry has admitted attempting to break into a family home just two days after he was released from custody for similar offences.

The 18-year-old pleaded guilty to the charge when he appeared at Sedgefield Magistrates' Court, County Durham, yesterday.

McKerry, of Benbow Walk, Coundon, near Bishop Auckland, was remanded in custody after pleading guilty to attempting to break into a house off South Church Road, Bishop Auckland, in May.

The teenager has now been arrested more than 80 times since his first offence, committed when he was 11 years old.

The court heard how McKerry and an unnamed man had tried to force their way through a kitchen window into the house, occupied by a couple and five young children, in the early hours of Friday, May 17.

Just two days earlier McKerry was released from custody at a young offenders' institution after being involved in a raid on a clothing shop.

Bill Brabban, prosecuting, described how the houseowner had been asleep on a living room sofa with the rest of the family asleep upstairs when he was woken by a scratching noise from the kitchen.

"He entered the room to come face to face with two young men, one trying to open the window with a screwdriver and the other in the background," said Mr Brabban.

"Soon after the incident was reported police came across two men, one of which was later identified as Shaun McKerry, believed to be the man in the background."

Defence solicitor Clive Booth said: "The court should take into account that an attempt is less serious than a complete offence and that Shaun McKerry has pleaded guilty."

Donald Raper, chairman of the bench, referred the case to crown court for sentencing, saying the crime carried a sentence beyond their power. McKerry will appear at Teesside Crown Court at a future date. Legal aid was extended.