One British van driver's forward thinking has led to him catching the thief who stole a £2,000 sports kit from his VW Transporter.

Swansea Magistrates Court heard how the van owner's decision to mount a camera on his dashboard enabled him to identify the 25-year-old thief. After passing on a copy of the footage to police, he posted it on Facebook and requested help from the public.

However, this did not prevent the driver from needing to make a claim on his van insurance. "I've been left £830 out of pocket by the theft and had to take time off work to sort insurance and repairs to the van," he said. "My wife was concerned the thief may come back and target us again."

And the thief had form, too – it was his twelfth offence, and the second time in succession he had been caught stealing from a vehicle.

It just goes to show though – with a little innovation and vigilance any van driver can improve their commercial vehicle's security and, potentially, reduce the cost of their van insurance.