The now 19-year-old will remain behind bars until September 26 after being handed a two-year jail term with a non-parole period of 10 months.

He has been in custody since his arrest on November 27, the Albury Children’s Court has heard.

All up he pleaded guilty to 20 charges, including four of riding in a stolen car, two of dishonestly obtaining property by deception, resisting police, police pursuit and driving despite never being licenced.

The court was told the teenager had “an extensive criminal history” in NSW.

His offending began on October 15 after the residents of a Bunker Court, Albury, house left their car parked in their driveway on the night of October 15.

The car had not been locked, as the keys were left in the driver’s foot well.

About 2.20am the next day, the residents of a house across the road were woken by the sound of the car starting.

When they looked out their window they saw the car being driven away slowly, so assumed it was the owner heading out when in fact it was the teenager, who was a passenger, and his mates.

Fifteen minutes later, CCTV footage captured the moment the teen raised his middle finger at the shop attendant at the BP Travelstop in Wagga Road, Lavington, as the driver headed off without paying for $40 of fuel. On the night of October 18, the teenager once again was a passenger in a car that was abandoned after running out of fuel on the Olympic Highway.

He and a co-accused decided to walk around Culcairn checking car doors, eventually finding one that was unlocked. They and others got in to the car and drove away.

The teenager was convicted also over incidents including the theft of a Volvo station wagon in Crisp Street, Albury, on November 8, the keys having been grabbed during a burglary, a petrol station drive-off involving $50 of petrol and an incident where a car was set on fire in Adams Court, Thurgoona.

He admitted to being in the car just 20 minutes before.