Teenager Jason Cooper has escaped a jail term after he broke into a house while on bail for shoplifting and assaulting a police officer.

The 19-year-old was put on a one-year probation order although the judge had warned him that he could go to prison.

Cooper was caught red handed as he tried to steal a PlayStation from a house on London Road, Devizes, on July 23.

At an earlier hearing Ian Halliday, defending, said that his client insisted he had not gone upstairs during the break-in at the house.

The court had been told that jewellery worth £3,000 had gone missing during the raid and not been recovered.

Mr Halliday said Cooper's accomplice, a youth who cannot be named for legal reasons, was the one who had gone to the first floor of Mirfield House.

But the three missing rings were not found on him at the time that he was arrested.

At the time of the burglary Cooper, of Forty Acres Road, Devizes, was awaiting sentence for theft and assaulting a policeman.

He took a DVD player worth £49.99 from the Virgin Megastore on May 8 and assaulted PC Paul Whitbread.

At an earlier hearing the court was told that Cooper was not deemed suitable for a probation order or community service but might be able to be put on a curfew order.

However, when preparing a pre-sentence report, the probation service decided that a probation order should be considered.

Imposing the order Recorder Christopher Frazer said that in his court burglars were almost always sent to custody, but he had taken note of recent Court of Appeal guidelines that first time burglars should not necessarily be jailed.

But he warned Cooper: "You only get one chance. If you do it again you will be going inside, there is no doubt about it."

Cooper had pleaded guilty to the charges of burglary, theft and assaulting a police officer.

Passing the sentence the judge said he had taken account of Cooper's previous convictions and the fact that he had spent three months in custody on remand.

He put him on a one year probation order and said he must complete the think first programme.