I installed a CCTV camera inside my house then caught my best mate neighbour stealing from me red handed

A PENSIONER caught his best mate stealing from him when he installed a hidden CCTV camera inside his wardrobe. 

John Rennie, 79, realised that neighbour Pav Taak, 47, had been taking money from his wallet and a safe. 

His son suggested they install the camera, which caught the thief four times rifling through Rennie's belongings, opening the safe and helping himself to cash.

Rennie, of Queensland, Australia, said: “I was gutted when I saw who was coming into my home and taking my cash. 

"My son's been over there and thanked him for looking after me. You know, by helping me out here and there.”

The money that went missing included $100 put into a birthday card for Rennie's daughter, which was kept in the safe, and $400 left in a suit coat pocket.

Hidden camera vision showed Taak going through the same coat pocket.

Rennie said he had a key hidden in the garden because he is so forgetful, and reckons Pav saw him and copied.

He also had a combination of the safe written down and hidden under the clock which he said must have been found.

Taak admitted three counts of entering a premises with intent, and one count of burglary.

He was given a nine-month jail sentence, wholly suspended for a year.

And he must pay $200 (£113) in compensation.

Rennie added: "He was my friend. The bastard's in there stealing from me when I'm out and when I come home I give him a beer.

"How'd you feel about that?

"He's shown no remorse at all and he's still out there driving a cab, even though his family told me he'd lose his licence because of the conviction."

A reporter from Australian news show approached Taak as he drove a taxi.

He reportedly refused to talk, slammed the cab door and sped away.