A thief has been caught after complaining to police about the posting of a picture of him committing the theft.

Nicholas Allegretto was filmed stealing an industrial magnet from Mackay’s hardware store in Cambridge in February. He was confronted by a staff member and then dropped the item before running away. His image was caught on CCTV and the shop owner subsequently put his picture up in the shop, the Cambridge News reports.

The poster originally included two thick lines across Allegretto’s face, making it difficult to identify him, and according to owner Neil Mackay it was intended just as a warning to potential thieves that the shop knew what they looked like, should they return.

The image was circulated on social media and in local news, which led to Allegretto’s decision to complain to local police.

Paul Roach, prosecuting, said: "It would seem that what happened is that this photograph of the suspect, I think it was put up in the shop, found its way into the local press, who sit behind me today.

"It was as a result of this photograph being in the press that the defendant then went to the station to complain about his photograph being published."

Allegretto went to the police and complained about the picture being made public, saying his family had been mocked and he had lost his job because of it. Police then interviewed Allegretto about the theft.

Allegretto said he went to the police because: "I found out I was put into the papers and on Facebook regarding this matter. My family started to suffer as a result of this. My younger sister was mocked at school and my boss at the roofing company said he could not trust me and I lost my job. I'm just very unhappy being accused of something I have not done."

The court found Allegretto guilty, with Chief Magistrate Phil King saying the evidence from shop staff was “clear, compelling and credible”.

Allegretto will be sentenced at a later date.