A FIFTEEN-year-old boy took part in a terrifying burglary at a house in Carlisle during which the victim barricaded himself in a bedroom as the armed intruders searched his home.

The three burglars were armed with an axe, a hammer, and an extendable baton, the city’s Rickergate court heard.

The 15-year-old pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and possessing an offensive weapon - the extendable baton. The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is the first person to admit the offending.

Prosecutor George Shelley described what happened.

The gang targeted the house in Nook Street, Carlisle, at 10.30pm on October 26, with the occupant calling the police to report burglars were forcing their way into his home.

Mr Shelley said: “The caller reported that the burglary was in progress at his home address, and he barricaded himself into his bedroom.

“He reported that they were armed with an axe and a hammer, and they were attempting to force entry to the bedroom.”

One of three males had earlier smashed glass in the back door with the axe’s handle before kicking his way through.

The three intruders – all believed to be teenagers – then went into the house.

At one point, said Mr Shelley, as they tried to force their way into the bedroom where the man was hiding, they were hacking at the door with the weapons.

One suspect was put before the court on Monday but he has yet to enter a plea but the 15-year-old who admitted the offences was identified from CCTV images because of his distinctive clothing.

There was also incriminating evidence found on his phone in the form of text messages, and a video that he had recorded of himself. The teenager’s criminal record consists of 27 previous offences.

Nine of those are offences of violence.

John Smith, defending, said the youth committed the offences after being released “on licence” half way through a six-month detention and training order.

A worker with Cumbria’s Youth Justice Service told magistrates the defendant twice went missing from the supervised facility outside of Cumbria where he was living while on licence.

He first disappeared on October 18, being found later in Manchester while making his way back to Carlisle, said the worker. “The second absence was the following Friday when these offences took place,” said the worker.

She said officials at the service had “real concerns” about more potential absences should the teenager be allowed to remain out of secure detention.

Magistrates adjourned sentencing the teenager until November 8, when he will appear before the city’s Youth Court. In the meantime, he will be kept in secure youth accommodation.

They said the risk posed by the youth was such that only a secure remand in youth accommodation was appropriate. The teenager and the second youth who was charged with the same offences cannot be named for legal reasons.