A TEENAGE girl burglar used a small boy to break into a house which she then raided and ransacked.
Katie Fox and her teen accomplice got a young child to put his arm through the letterbox and unlock the door from inside.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the raiders stole a large amount of electrical goods and personal belongings and rooms inside the South Shields house were “trashed”.
The householder told police she felt “physically sick” when she realised her home had been under attack.
Prosecutor Jim Hope told the court Fox, 19, was arrested days after the raid when her fingerprint was found on a bin bag inside the address.
Mr Hope said: “She said she had been with a friend who had asked a small boy to reach through the letterbox and unlock the door.”
Fox said she was responsible for stealing only cosmetics and had not benefited financially, despite the large amount of goods that were taken.
Mr Hope said: “The use of a small boy to gain access to the house” was an aggravating feature of the case.
In a statement to police, the householder said: “When my husband told me what had happened I broke down and started shaking.
“I just feel ill, and hope the people responsible are caught.”
The court heard the 17-year-old raider was given a 12-month referral order by magistrates.
Fox, of Asher Street, Felling, was sentenced to a community order for two years, with supervision.
She had pleaded guilty to burglary at an earlier hearing.
Vic Laffey, defending, said Fox, who is already a mother-of-one and is expecting another baby, “went along” with what happened, and is very vulnerable.
Judge Guy Whitburn said the burglary was a “mean” offence, but told Fox: “I think you need all the support you can get.”