A teenage boy, who was originally put on probation for three years, was yesterday jailed for four months after a magistrate heard he had breached the conditions of probation.

In a judgement handed down in November 2003, Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera had put the teenager on probation for three years for stealing a woman's handbag from a Paceville beach.

But in May this year a probation officer informed the court that the boy, who was 15 when he committed the crime, was not observing the conditions laid down in the probation order.

After hearing evidence and finding that the boy had in fact, breached several conditions, the magistrate decided the case against the boy according to law. On taking his young age into consideration she jailed him for four months.

Police Inspector Mario Tonna prosecuted.