Car thieves note: Don't put pictures on Facebook

Posing proudly with the vehicles they stole, these two criminals must rank among the stupidest in Britain.

Jonathan Dougan, 26, and Matthew Murphy, 23, took motorbikes, high-performance cars and bottles of champagne from their victims’ homes in a seven-month campaign. But the dim-witted pair — who were both on parole from prison — came unstuck when they posted dozens of incriminating images on Facebook. Almost 50 shots were uploaded on to the social media site, as the two career criminals bragged of their loot.

Acting on a tip-off from one of the victims, police officers were simply able to download all the evidence they needed.

Last night the two men, both from Salford, were behind bars after they were each sentenced to nine years and four months in prison.