An eagle-eyed Facebook user has helped East Cambs Police join the dots in the hunt for a man suspected of stealing £1,300 from an Ely pub.

Cambs Times: Image of man published by Hitchin policeImage of man published by Hitchin police (Image: Archant)

The local police are now working with colleagues in Hitchin to try to identify the suspect who was captured on CCTV during a break-in at a flat above the Kings Arms pub in St Mary’s Street at 10.45am on Friday January 8 when the cash - which included staff wages and £600 raised for charity - was taken.

Policing East Cambs published the image on their Facebook page and a visitor to the site spotted the likeness between the man in the picture and a man on a similar image published by police in Hitchin.

Sgt Phil Priestley from East Cambs Police said: “We put the image out to the public and we had a call from someone who had seen a similar picture following an incident in Hitchin.

“We now firmly believe that the two crimes are linked and that we are looking for the same person.

“We have now been able to put it out to other neighbouring forces that we have someone who is mobile committing these type of offences, so we can have a co-ordinated effort to catch the person responsible.”

He continued: “Images from private CCTV systems, like the one in the pub, can be a really useful weapon in the fight against crime. Home CCTV kits have come down in price and you can pick one up for under £100 which has motion sensors so the camera comes on when it senses movement and records images directly to your computer or lap top.

“Images from these systems can be uploaded on to social media so the public can help us identify people we want to talk to. They are also useful as a deterrent against those looking to commit crimes who are put off by the use of CCTV cameras on people’s homes.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101, or call Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555111.