When it comes to shady behaviour, stealing from your next-door neighbour ranks pretty highly on the scale. It shows a remarkable lack of foresight, however, to end up selling the items back to said neighbour on eBay - you're just asking to be caught there, surely.
Still, that's what happened in November last year, as 30-year-old James Longden waited until his victim was at work to break into his home in Chester before stealing the guy's laptop, jewellery and even his clothes.
Longden decided he wanted to make a bit of cash from the stolen goods and popped them on eBay - and he may have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for his wily neighbour, who scoured the Internet for clues as to the missing items' whereabouts, according to the Sun.
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The victim then came across a few things on eBay that seemed awfully familiar - yep, you've guessed it, they were his. After winning the auction, the victim then organised a meeting under the guise of providing payment.
Longden was all ready to meet the buyer, but instead of an eager customer, he encountered a group of police officers.
The authorities had been tipped off by the victim, who managed to identify the seller as Longden.
Police then showed up at Chester railway station, the agreed meeting place, and arrested him. At the station, police also caught him with a watch that belonged to the victim, and when officers proceeded to search Longden's home, they were able to retrieve most of the stolen items.
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Longden ended up at Chester crown court where he pleaded guilty to the burglary at the first opportunity to do so, and was sentenced to 28 months in prison and forced to pay £170 to his victim.
He was condemned for his actions,with a police detective calling it a 'serious offence' and saying the experience must have been 'traumatic' for the victim.
Outside court, Detective Constable Nicky Edgell of Cheshire Police said: "Burglary is a serious offence. Victims are targeted in their own home, the place they should be able to feel most safe. It's always a traumatic experience.
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"In this case it turned out that the victim had been burgled by his next door neighbour, making the incident even more upsetting.
"Thankfully the victim spotted some of the items that had been stolen from his house being sold on eBay."
Before going to prison, Longden was no longer living next door to the victim - instead he'd moved to Rhyl, Wales.
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: UK News, law, theft, crime