A teenage thief from Sandy has received a suspended sentence and must pay more than £3,000 after he admitted breaking into a farmhouse and stealing copper.

Joe Loveridge, of Winchester Road, has been sentenced to eight weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, after he pleaded guilty to a deputy district judge at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court last week.

The 18-year-old, who had pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing, admitted stealing copper electrical cabling from a self-employed Ickleford electrician, as well as breaking into a farmhouse in the village.

In addition to the suspended sentence, Deputy District Judge Davinder Dhaliwal ordered Loveridge to complete 140 hours of unpaid work in the next 12 months.

The teenager, whose guilty plea was taken into account, must also pay a total of £2,580 in compensation and £620 in costs. No victim surcharge was ordered on the reasoning that compensation should take priority.