Outed: Facebook prankster who boasted of riot thefts

A mechanic who boasted on his Facebook account that he had stolen televisions during the riots in south London was outed by angry users of social networking sites.

John Briggs, who now denies taking part in the looting, wrote on his Facebook page: "Had a good night in croyden [sic] last night got me a couple of tvs and a blur ray DVD player."

He later added: "52inch 3G tv for sale you want to buy one."

Mr Briggs is believed to have written the message as a "practical joke" but his comments had attracted the attention of angry Twitter users who immediately launched an online campaign to find him.

They were aided by the details which included his alleged place of work R Collard, based in Eversley, Hampshire, a demolition and recycling firm.

Within hours of it appearing messages were posted, included one from juanjuego saying: "I wonder if R Collard (where John Briggs works as a mechanic) are going to sack him or risk losing all their business."

Another, chrisccoulson, added: "#nameandshame - John Briggs isn't very intelligent, and probably also unemployed by the morning."

While another account called NameTheRioters1 asked: "Do you recognise John Briggs of Fleet, Hampshire?

"Openly admits to rioting. Give his whereabouts"
Mr Briggs's boss, Robert Collard, told the Standard: "He is a young employee who has worked for me for a number of years.

"He put it on his Facebook as a practical joke. He comes from a quiet village in Hampshire. I doubt he has ever even been to Croydon."