A TEENAGER trashed a house in Nantyglo, believing illegal substances were sold from there, a court heard.

Afterwards, the 17-year-old flagged down a police car and told PC Alex Webley: "I wanted to kill them. They were not in so I smashed the place up".

Cardiff crown court heard a close friend of the defendant aged 12 had died after taking drugs.

He admitted burglary with intent, to damage a house at Garn Cross, Nantyglo. Recorder David Owen-Jones described the case as "containing very exceptional circumstances" and sentenced him to a 12 month supervision order, and also brought into operation an intense supervision and surveillance programme which involves the defendant being tagged and subject to a curfew at night.

Prosecutor Richard Jones said than on the night of January 22 one of the occupiers of the house returned home and found the building and much personal property had been damaged.

It was found that a coffee table had been thrown from inside the house through a 4ft x 4ft double glazed window.

The front door and frame were damaged, an internal door had a hole in it, there were holes in the plasterboard wall and an electric socket was broken.

Damage to household and personal property topped £2,000, the court heard. After the attack the youth flagged down the police car and told the officer "I smashed the house up because they sold someone smack".

Police Constable Webley said a relation of the defendant had had a drug problem and the defendant was violently anti-drugs.

"I believe the reason he said he caused the damage was the truth," he said. Defence counsel Bernard Powell said: "It was a mean offence and he did take the law into his own hands. But as soon as he could he confessed what he had done."