A TEENAGE "three strikes" burglar who ransacked homes to make off with family treasures has been branded a menace and locked up for more than two years.

A judge told 18-year-old Nathan Webster he was an unsuccessful house-breaker whose jail sentences would just get longer and longer if he continued to appear before the courts.

Webster, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to burgling a house at The Gables, Keighley, on April 18 and stealing property worth £5,400.

Prosecutor Robert Galley told Bradford Crown Court today the house "looked like a bomb had hit it" after Webster's untidy search.

His haul included a silver cornet handed down by the householder's grandfather and an engagement ring.

None of the property was recovered.

Webster struck again on May 11, this time at a house in West Lane, Keighley.

He got in through an insecure door and ransacked the property, making off with a camera, X Box and games, to the value of £540.

Mr Galley said CCTV from near the scene showed Webster putting up his hood and donning gloves ready to attack the house.

He was arrested close to the scene, standing with other youths in hoodies next to a bag of stolen items.

In September last year, Webster was locked up by magistrates for house burglary.

He was freed from a12 month detention and training order in February and on licence when he committed the latest two offences.

Judge Peter Benson told Webster: "You are only 18 but you have amassed a terrible record for dwelling house burglary.

"You are a menace really to the inhabitants of Keighley."

Webster would spend more and more time behind bars if he did not mend his ways.

"You are not a very successful or professional burglar and you must understand that the sentences the courts will impose will get longer and longer," Judge Benson said.

He urged him to reflect on the misery and upset caused by his crimes.

Webster was sentenced to three years detention in a young offender institution, reduced by 20 per cent to 876 days because of credit for his early guilty plea.