A shop owner in Dover has thanked those who helped to catch a phone thief by sharing the shop’s CCTV footage.

Jay Barton, owner of Massive Deals, in London Road, posted a video of a thief who stole a phone worth £75 on February 5. It was shared more than 100,000 times and resulted in police catching Roman Mosorov, who was sentenced at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on May 12.

The 38-year-old, of Belgrave Road, Dover, must carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay more than £200 in costs.

Mr Barton, who has run the shop for seven years, said: “I posted the video on Facebook and it had 100,000 views. It made a good thing come out of something bad. It was great advertising for the shop.”

The footage showed Mosorov lean over the glass counter while staff member Kain Ulyatt was dealing with another customer.

He snatched the phone and hid it in his jacket pocket, but stayed in the store for some time.

Mr Barton, who lives in Mongeham, said he was happy the culprit had been caught and that it was largely down to all those who shared the footage.

The owner of the second-hand electrical goods store said at the time, Mr Barton said: “It just angers me. It was so blatant.”

It was not the first time that thieves had targeted Massive Deals, as an iPhone 6 was stolen last year. Mr Barton said he hoped the cameras would act as a deterrent. He is still waiting to receive the compensation.