A TEEN burglar who raided homes in the early hours has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in a young offenders' institution.

Josh Waters, 18, of Irving Road, Southampton, admitted theft, two counts of burglary, taking a vehicle without consent, driving without a licence or insurance and possession of a knife in a public place.

Southampton Crown Court, where Waters was sentenced, heard that police received a number of 999 calls in the early hours of July 19.

Burglar Waters had been confronted by two people during the spree. But it was a police dog that brought the teen to ground after finding him hiding in a back garden in Bouverie Close, Salisbury.

Det Con Mark Welch of Wiltshire Police's community tasking team said: "This was a fantastic piece of police work where we were called out to crimes in progress and were able to successfully track and arrest the suspect.

"Once he was in custody we then had further calls from members of the public who had woken up and realised they had been targeted during the night. We were able to link Waters to those offences as well."