A BURGLAR who embarked on a two-year campaign of crime across his hometown was last night starting a prison sentence of 20 months.

Shane Preston confessed to many of the unsolved offences after he was arrested for a break-in at a house in Darlington in June this year.

At court yesterday, the 21year-old asked a catalogue of raids on sheds and garages to be taken into account when he was sentenced.

Teesside Crown Court heard that the crimes were committed between 2009 and his arrest in the summer but no one had ever been caught.

Preston, of Cartmel Terrace, Darlington, will receive a minimum three-year sentence if he is convicted of another house burglary.

The court heard that the one-time Asbo yob carried out his first break-in as a juvenile in 2003, and was first sent to custody two years later.

On June 13, this year, Preston and friend Karl Davies, 20, raided a house in Blackwell Lane and escaped with a £6,300 haul of goods.

Lap-top computers and jewellery - much of it with great sentimental value - were taken in the break-in, said prosecutor Sue Jacobs.

The householder said in an impact statement that she felt "sickened and shocked" when she returned from work to discover the mess.

She said he daughter was distraught because her bedroom had been ransacked, and said they were both afraid the raiders might return.

A footwear mark left at the scene was later linked to Preston and a fingerprint found on a garden gate belonged to Davies, said Mrs Jacobs.

Before the pair were caught, however, Preston stole a bike from the garden of a house in Coniscliffe Road, Darlington, in a 1am raid.

Davies was later arrested at his home in Thirlmere Road where police found a car key stolen in a burglary in Lakeside days earlier.

He admitted being the lookout during the first burglary and handling stolen goods, and was jailed for 12 months by Judge Howard Crowson.

His barrister, David Lamb, told the court that Davies had been the look-out for Preston during the raid in Blackwell Lane.

Preston's barrister, Paul Abrahams, described him as "a Jack the Lad" in his neighbourhood, and said he wanted to wipe the slate clean.

He said Preston's willingness to confess to the unsolved thefts and burglaries showed he was keen to start afresh when released from prison.

In 2004, Preston, then a 14year-old, made national headlines after being handed what was termed Britain's toughest Asbo.

The anti-social behaviour barred him from setting foot in the Skerne Park estate in Darlington for a total of four years.