A teenager who broke into a friend's house after a drinking session has been ordered to do 150 hours work for the community.

Andrew Clarke, aged 19, of Wishaw Close, Redditch, who was convicted of burglary, was also ordered to pay £90 costs at Worcester Crown Court on Friday.

Mr James McCracken, prosecuting, said Clarke was spotted near a broken window at a house in Netherfields Close, Redditch, on April 9 after the sound of breaking glass had been heard by passers-by.

He told police he had intended to steal stereo equipment but had only taken a mobile phone.

Mr Samantha Crabb, defending, said it was a strange offence for a man of good character. He was not addicted to drugs or alcohol although he had been drinking on the day of the crime.

The house belonged to friends and he did not know what had come over him. He was now working in a factory and intended to train as a forklift truck driver.

Judge John Cavell, making a community punishment order, said it was mystifying why Clarke had decided to break into a house where he knew the occupants.

Burglary normally merited custody because it was the invasion of someone's space and often left people in fear for years afterwards, he added.