A 16-YEAR-OLD boy is behind bars after joining the list of York teenagers who have told youth justices to lock them up immediately.

All have accepted that their offending was so bad they saw no point in wasting the court's time and public money in a three-week delay for reports so justices could consider other punishments.

Recent Government statistics show that criminal justice agencies in York and North Yorkshire are the fastest in the country at dealing with persistent young offenders.

In the latest case, justices were so ready to oblige with the boy's plea that they did not even ask prosecutor Mike Duffy to give the usual full breakdown of his crimes. But they did read reports outlining his breach of court orders.

The 16-year-old from the northern side of the city pleaded guilty to stealing a £399 palmtop computer from the BT Shop, in Spurriergate, York, stealing bacon from Forbuoys, in Crichton Avenue, Clifton, driving without a licence and insurance in Spalding Avenue, breaching an attendance centre order and a supervision order and failing to answer his bail.

The court was told that the teenager had never been in custody before.

"You leave us no alternative," said justice Elizabeth Hjort, presiding, as the court imposed a four-month detention-and-training order with six penalty points to go on his licence when he passes his driving test.

Defence solicitor John Howard said: "He doesn't feel the need for a pre-sentence report. Again it is a young man who sees only one alternative open to the court - that would be a period of incarceration. Those are my instructions."

The boy was arrested on warrant just five days before sentence, though he had been on the run for some weeks.