THIEVES who stole a motorhome were caught after the owner spotted the vehicle for sale on eBay.

John Ward, 23, stole the motorhome from an industrial estate in Kimbolton on March 11 last year, but it was only when the owner saw it for sale on the online auction site, he knew that it had been taken.

Officers tracked down the vehicle to Ward’s home in Willen Road, Newport Pagnell.

Prior to the theft, members of staff working on the estate has been asked questions about the vehicle by two men. The workers became suspicious and made a note of the registration plate of the vehicle being driven by one of the men. Checks later revealed that the vehicle belonged to Ward.

After a three day trial at Huntingdon Crown Court, Ward was found guilty of theft on Friday (March 2) and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

His father, Thomas Ward, 42, of the same address, was given a 10-month suspended sentence and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. He was found guilty of fraud by misrepresentation and handling stolen goods.