A burglar has been hauled before the courts after leaving police a helpful clue at the crime scene - his name scrawled on a wall.

Peter Addison, 18, daubed "Peter Addison was here!" in black marker pen at a campsite for underprivileged children.

He and friend Mark Ridgeway, 18, had been on a drunken wrecking spree at the camp.

They had smashed crockery, let off fire extinguishers and used dinner plates as cricket balls.

When police arrested Addison, he was even wearing a T-shirt stolen from the site, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

To make matters worse, Addison, of Heaton Mersey, Stockport, had also written his gang's name on the wall - "The Adlington Massiv!".

The teenager also vandalised a Garden Birds of Britain poster by adding "R Gay".

He then left a final message to the campsite owners: "Thanks for the stay."

Officers soon tracked him down by running his name through their computer system.

Speaking after the pair were sentenced for burglary, Inspector Gareth Woods, of Cheshire Police, said: "This crime is up there with the dumbest of all in the criminal league table.

"There are some pretty stupid criminals around but to leave your own name at the scene of the crime takes the biscuit.

"The daftness of this lad certainly made our job a lot easier."

Both youths pleaded guilty to burglary when they appeared at Macclesfield Magistrates Court on August 31.

Addison's solicitor said he had been diagnosed with dyspraxia - "clumsy child syndrome".

He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £725 compensation and £20 costs.

Ridgeway, of Poynton, was sentenced to 60 hours of unpaid work, a 12-month community order and £20 costs.