A judge applauded a burglar's artistic talents after he brought a selection of sketches into the courtroom.

Leigh Fagan, pictured, showed off the pencil drawings at a hearing to assess his progress on a drug treatment and testing order (DTTO).

At Bradford Crown Court yesterday, Judge Roger Scott urged the former addict to make the most of his skills - and even jokingly suggested he could sell some of the lawyers portraits of themselves.

After studying Fagan's pictures of a rhinoceros and a North Yorkshire landscape, Judge Scott said: "You've done that? That's excellent!"

Judge Scott had previously asked Fagan, of Hainsworth Road, Silsden, to bring in some of his work when he attended the review hearing.

He was made the subject of the 12-month order - designed to get him off drugs - in November after a jury found him guilty of burgling a house in Silsden four years ago. Although the break-in took place in 1998, Fagan was not arrested until 2001 after police matched his DNA with saliva found on a cigarette at the scene.

In light of recent controversy surrounding a burglar who was spared jail so he could concentrate on writing poetry, Judge Scott stressed he had not imposed the DTTO to allow Fagan to draw.

But he told him: "You've got talent. So why not use it instead of taking drugs?"

An officer from the DTTO programme said Fagan was making excellent progress under the order and had not been taking drugs.

After the case, Fagan said: "I was addicted to heroin for five years but I wouldn't touch it again - it is totally evil stuff. I have wasted enough of my life and now I want to get a trade and do something positive. The order has been a real help and I am determined to make a go of things."

Fagan said he had liked art from a young age and it had helped him to come off drugs by keeping his mind active.

He added: "I quite like the pictures but I was surprised by the judge's comments about them."