South Shields burglary victim turned detective and took to the streets to get 'irreplaceable' jewellery back

The householder had received a call telling him serial criminal Mark Fada may have "information" about the break-in that had happened at his home in South Shields in February and so went to his house to confront him.

Newcastle Crown Court heard as a result of the confrontation, the stolen belongings, which were worth over £900 and included "irreplaceable" jewellery, were all returned.

Prosecutor Paul Green told the court: "He received a telephone call indicating Mr Fada had information in relation to the burglary.

"He went to the address the same day.

"His friend went to the front door and he went to the back.

"As he walked up the back lane and the friend knocked on the front door, Fada jumped out of the window.

"He talked to Fada and demanded the return of the stolen property."

The court heard Fada asked the victim to come back to the house later, which he did and was given a bag containing stolen items.

Fada, 23, who has convictions for 40 previous offences, was arrested by the police, who discovered he had kept some jewellery back for himself.

Vic Laffey, defending, said Fada had approached a man who was "well known in South Shields" to get the stolen goods back and had "received a kicking" for his efforts.

Mr Laffey said: "He passed the items back to the victims within a very short period of time.

"He accepted in doing so, and because he had received this kicking, he withheld jewellery, which was later recovered."

Mr Laffey said Fada, who has been in custody since early October, is willing to work with officials who can help him stay away from trouble in future.

Fada, of Albany Close, South Shields, pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods.

Judge Robert Adams sentenced him to six months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, with 100 hours unpaid work.

The judge said: "Thankfully, the items were recovered."