Netherton United footballer turns sleuth to track wallet thief

A footballer turned sleuth midway through a haircut to hunt down the thief that stole his wallet.

Kenny Wheatland used notifications on his phone to track where his card was being used after his car was broken into in Peterborough on 12 August.

The Netherton United centre-back eventually found the thief and chased him while in flip-flops, pinning him down until police arrived.

The 26-year-old said his team-mates "want to see Crimewatch re-enactments".

As first reported in the Peterborough Telegraph, Mr Wheatland said when the notification about card usage arrived, "I was like 'alright then, I can catch him because I know exactly where he is and what he's spending'."

He said he went to a shop and asked for a description of the offender who was "wearing a chequered shirt".

Mr Wheatland soon received further notifications about his card being used in Lincoln Road.

He said as he walked out of one shop "the guy in the chequered shirt came walking towards me" with another person and "they had a ton of bags".

"I confronted them and asked them if they had my wallet. The looks on their faces they were like deer in a headlights, they did not have a clue how I found them at all," he said.

The non-league footballer said he initially ran after the friend who "acted as a distraction" while the other man ran away.

He gave chase and eventually caught up with him, "knocked him over, and all my cards just fell out of his pockets".

He added: "I pinned him down and waited for the police to come. He was a bit angry he got caught so he started threatening me and then, as I held him longer, he realised he wasn't getting away so he got more apologetic."

Mr Wheatland said that once police arrived one officer said "that I should go and get my hair finished".

Cambridgeshire Police later charged a man with theft from a motor vehicle and fraud by false representation.

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