A BOY of 14, known as ''Blip Boy'' because of the impact he has on

local crime statistics when at liberty, has been placed in secure

accommodation.

While on the streets, the teenager from York single-handedly created a

mini crime wave which included 38 burglaries and thefts.

He also absconded from a children's home and failed to appear in court

in connection with other offences.

Now social workers -- who initially issued travel warrants to allow

the boy to visit his parents three times a week -- have confined him in

line with a youth court order.

He had been placed at a children's home in Skipton, North Yorkshire,

under a six-month supervision order for previous persistent offences,

but police complained that he was still free to come and go.

Senior officers had said that crime figures rose wherever the boy was

sent. They leapt in Skipton when he went to the home and, at the same

time, the figures in York fell dramatically.

A social services spokeswoman at North Yorkshire County Council

confirmed the boy was now at a special secure unit at Newton Aycliffe in

County Durham.

''He has been put in secure accommodation -- it's a very specific

place. The doors are locked,'' she added.