A BURGLAR has been spared prison - a day after being released from Winchester Jail.
Matthew Amos, 21, who had been locked up since August for breaching other sentences, was given 18 months supervision coupled with a 12-month drug rehabilitation requirement.
Amos had admitted being one of two men who broke into a house in Southampton occupied by an elderly woman and stole keys.
Passing sentence at the city crown court, Recorder Claudia Ackner aknowleged that Amos had attended drug awareness courses while in jail.
"You are now drug-free and motivated to build on that progress. If you don't meet this challenge, you will come back before this court and you will be looking at immediate prison sentences. It's your choice but I don't under-estimate the challenge before you."
Amos, of Ethelred Gardens, Southampton, also had a three month night curfew imposed.
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