It was a bit of detective work that even Sherlock Holmes would be proud of after a teenager tracked down a thief who burgled his family home - in just one hour.
Connor Kendall, 16, was told by police that there was little hope of ever finding the burglar who got away with a £1,000 haul - including a digital camera, camcorder, a laptop, and wristwatch - from his family home in Cornwall.
But he decided to take matters into his own hands and incredibly the amateur sleuth had things wrapped up in no time when he managed to track down the culprits himself.
Connor and three friends went into Bodmin near where he lives and began talking to local youngsters, friends and neighbours to find out if anyone knew anything.
After just 60 minutes of investigating the burglary, they discovered that someone was trying to sell his watch on a Facebook page.
Connor showed the page to police who arrested 22-year-old Jamie Fisher, from Roche, Cornwall - who has now been jailed for 28 months.
Connor said: "I contacted some of my mates and we found out that someone was trying to sell a laptop and cameras to people.
"We decided to go out and try to find the person who was selling them because they sounded like the things stolen from my house.
"We found some boys who said it was Jamie Fisher and the watch was on his Facebook. The whole thing took an hour."
Truro Crown Court heard Connor decided to take his own action after returning to his house and discovering the burglary on October 16. The kitchen window of the home was ajar and the back door unlocked.
Connor rounded up three friends Zak Landert, Jake Campbell, and Alex Long and began asking around until someone showed them the Facebook page.
Police gathered the information from their young helper and arrested Fisher, who admitted the burglary.
Connor’s father, water technician Kevin Kendall, 51, said: 'They went into town and asked people around their age if they knew whether the items were being sold somewhere.
"It’s a bit of a worry thinking about him talking to people who might know criminals but they all did an excellent job and I’m very proud."
The court heard Fisher sold the laptop for £30 to buy cannabis but the other items were recovered.
The total value of the laptop, two digital cameras and the wristwatch Fisher stole was £960 - of which £330 worth was returned.
Sentencing Fisher to 28 months in prison, Judge John Neligan said: "You may have got away with it but for the young man’s detective work."
