A curious toddler helped police catch an on-the-run shoplifter who was hiding in his garden.
Two-year-old Ashton Millard saw the wanted thief crouching by the shed in his garden in Clacton, Essex.
Police saw him pointing out of the window and were led to the shoplifter, who they'd been looking for after he'd stolen a pack of razors from a Boots store.
Ashton's mum Alice said: "Ashton was making noises in his room and I went in and saw him at the window. He was pointing and shouting.
"I went to see what had got him so excited and after a few seconds I saw a man dash across the garden. It was a bit of a shock. You don't expect to see strangers running around your garden.
"The police caught him when he jumped over our garden fence to get away, but they would never have known where he was if it wasn't for Ashton. The police came round to the front door after they had arrested him and told me what had happened.
"They said they had seen Ashton pointing and it led them to the man. It's not often you get to say a child that young helped to catch a criminal."
A 35-year-old man from Clacton was charged with two counts of theft, including stealing a gammon joint from a local Co-op store.