Super sleuth catches alleged panties thief

A serial panties thief has proved to be no match for a Dunedin super sleuth.

Nick Reeves began keeping an overnight watch after hundreds of items of underwear started disappearing from his mother's and neighbours' lines in the suburb of Abbotsford this year, the Otago Daily Times reported.

Mr Reeves spent a few nights watching the clothesline - which had been baited with panties from his mother's house - but to no avail.

The family even rigged up their own security system by stringing cotton thread around the perimeter of the property.

In a last ditch attempt to capture the thief, Mr Reeves secreted himself in the rhododendron bush while his brother-in-law hid behind some nearby ferns.

Their dogged determination paid off when they spotted a man taking items from a neighbour's washing line.

They yelled at him and he took off scattering panties around as he ran.

But they caught him after a kilometre chase and handed him over to police.

"He was pretty embarrassed," Mr Reeves said.

A 38-year-old Dunedin man will appear in the Dunedin District Court tomorrow on two burglary charges.

- NZPA