A mobile phone image of a man's hand holding stolen watches landed a man in jail for handling stolen goods in a legal first.

A 29-year-old Brit was sent behind the bars after police found a picture of his hand holding stolen watches on his mobile phone and matched it to his fingerprint record.

Stephen Taylor, a prolific criminal, had captured a photo of three watches, worth nearly £4,000, with his mobile phone in a bid to sell them.

The forensic team took less than an hour to spot identical ridges on Taylor’s fingers and the picture of palm.

The three expensive watches had been stolen during arobbery at a house in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester.

Judge Andrew Lowcock awarded him ten months of imprisonment. Pronouncing the judgment, Judge Andrew Lowcock said, “You were caught largely because of the ingenuity of the investigating police officers.”

Taylor had seventeen previous convictions, including for burglary.