A criminal who has been jailed every time he has offended for three years may get a chance from a judge.
Judge Beverley Lunt asked probation officers to look at other ways of dealing with Anthony Morgan, 22, and said his drink problem needing tackling.
The judge said a pre-sentence report on Morgan was "rather bleak" and she was concerned he had been going to prison since early 2004, when he was 19.
She said probation reports that he had failed to abide by community penalties seemed "a bit dismissive."
Judge Lunt told Burnley Crown Court she was thinking of an alcohol awareness course attached to a suspended sentence.
Morgan was remanded in custody until August 24. The defendant, of Clough Road, Bacup, had earlier admitted burglary.
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