A thief who admitted stealing a rare Pokemon card valued at up to £30,000 has received a caution as the game card was handed back to its owner.

Sussex Police was called by a company that values Pokemon cards in Heathfield, East Sussex, on October 21, after the precious Charizard card was sent back to its owner in Essex – who had not received it.

The collectable card was then discovered to be up for sale on Facebook.

It was a valuable item which meant a lot to the victim who had it stolen

A 23-year-old man from Polegate was arrested on suspicion of theft on October 27, and admitted stealing the card worth between £20,000 and £30,000 in a police interview and was given a caution.

A police spokesperson said: “A search order was authorised on his property and officers found the rare card inside.

“After a voluntary interview, the suspect admitted to stealing the card and showed remorse for his actions.”

The card was believed to be stolen between September 2-5 in Heathfield.

Pc Alan Russell, who handled the initial investigation, said: “We identified a line of inquiry quickly and were able act quickly.

“It was a valuable item which meant a lot to the victim who had it stolen.

“The victim is happy that his card was returned and our teams worked really well together to solve this case.”