A MAN was a "cat's whisker" away from being sent to prison after making a hole in the floor of a first-floor flat to gain access to the shop below.

Trevor Fillbrook, 36, and an accomplice had broken into the flat in Yarm Road, Darlington, to gain access to the Carphone Warehouse below.

They caused an estimated £490 damage to the roof and a further £300 damage to the alarm system after the break-in on May 12.

Blair Martin, prosecuting at Darlington Magistrates' Court said: "They left the scene and were arrested more than three months later on August 25 after police recovered forensic evidence. Mr Fillbrook told police he had wanted to steal the phones to sell on for financial gain."

Fillbrook is under licence until November after being released from a two-year sentence for burglary last July.

Mo Sibert, for the probation service, said: "He knows he is a very lucky man. He was a cat's whisker away from being recalled to prison. It is, in large part, through the work of his offender manager that he has not been."

Graham Hunsley, for Fillbrook, said: "This is a case of him taking one small step back on what has otherwise been an exemplary period spent on licence."

Fillbrook, of Wharf Way, Darlington, admitted burglary. He was given a 12-month community order with supervision and a six-month low intensity drug rehabilitation order.