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A PHONE thief who was confronted and filmed by a train passenger has been fined and cautioned by police and told to write a letter of apology to the victim.

Following an appeal a number of people contacted British Transport Police (BTP) with information about the incident, and as a result 21-year-old Ross Heckman, from Addlestone, was identified.

He was arrested on Monday (February 13) on suspicion of theft before being taken to a police station in Victoria, central London, where he admitted the offence.

The man was handed a caution with conditions that he pay the victim £499, write her a letter of apology and not commit any further offences before June 14 this year.

If he does not adhere to any of the conditions, he could end up being prosecuted for theft.

The appeal to identify the man was sparked by Matt Parker, who was a passenger on the 12.09am London Waterloo to Guildford service on Friday, February 3.

The mobile phone was stolen from a bag inadvertently left on the train by a woman.

Mr Parker, 31, from Shalford, near Guildford, confronted the thief about what he was doing, also filming their row and taking his photo before posting details of the incident on his blog . The suspect got off the train at Weybridge.

Speaking on Tuesday (February 14), Mr Parker said: "I am very pleased that what felt like a lot of ineffectual yelling did eventually result in an ideal outcome."

According to the BTP, the owner of the phone was a 34-year-old woman from East Molesey.

She went to collect her bag from Guildford railway station and found a note from Mr Parker explaining why her phone was missing.

A BTP spokesman said on Tuesday: “We would like to thank the members of the public who came forward and provided information about this incident, allowing us to identify and arrest the person responsible.

“Failure to comply with any one of the conditions could result in the caution being cancelled and the man being prosecuted for theft."