Burglar Stuart Duggan has thrown away a chance given to him by a judge by failing to abide by his probation order.

The 26-year-old was spared jail a year ago when he admitted sneaking past a sleeping child to steal money during a night time break in.

He was given 100 hours' community service and an 18 month probation order when the judge told him that the matter wasn't so serious to merit custody.

But Duggan has gone missing having completed just 40 of the 100 hours' unpaid work and lost touch with the probation service.

Now a judge at Swindon Crown Court has issued a warrant for his arrest and detention so he can face re-sentence for the offence.

Michael Butt, prosecuting, said that Duggan went to live in Marlborough after he was put on the order in December 2003.

The burglar then moved to the YMCA in Bath for a while, he said, leaving there last year telling staff he was returning to live in Marlborough. However he failed to inform the probation service of his new address.

"As far as the Wiltshire probation service is concerned, he simply dropped out of sight," Mr Butt told the court.

As a result he said Duggan was in breach of the order because he had not kept them informed of his address.

The burglar had broken into a house on Ashley Close, Bradford on Avon, during the summer of 2003 to be confronted by an eightyear-old autistic boy asleep on the sofa.

Rather than leaving the scene he crept past the youngster and stole £87 from a wallet in the lounge.

When he was arrested after police found his fingerprints in the house, he told officers that he had been drunk and climbed in through an open window.

At the time of his sentencing Duggan, who has a string of previous convictions for a variety of offences including burglary, was living in Trowbridge.