A man from South Wales whose bicycle was stolen by a burglar got it back – after contacting the thief’s parents on Facebook via the mobile phone he had left behind.

Tomas Evans from Tonypandy, Rhondda discovered that his new mountain bike and a set of tools had been stolen from his house last Sunday.

But he also found that the burglar had left a mobile phone there with the torchlight app still active, reports the South Wales Echo.

He wrote on Facebook: "You have probably now realised that you left your mobile phone on top of my shelf with the torch app still on. VERY SILLY BOY.

"Not only do I have your phone and all photos, I have just spoken to DAD, UNCLE... and they have all given me the same name.

"You have until 9am tomorrow morning to knock my front door with the mountain bike and every single tool you have stolen.

"After 9am I will be calling... MAM MOBILE, NAN HOUSE and BOSS HOME.

"The ball is in your court. Just remember I know who you are and where you live, it's whether you want everyone on Facebook to know."

The items were returned by the person who took them – accompanied by his father – the following morning, by which time the Facebook post had been shared more than 16,000 times.

The victim said afterwards: "With regards to all the comments about giving him a good slap: even though this morning I wanted to, by the time he got here his dad and uncle had already seen to that."