The Facebook website has helped nab an escaped British attempted killer who was hiding out in Spain.
Scott Kelly, 33, was on the run after having spent seven years in prison for the attempted murder of Stephen Rank during an argument in an Exeter pub. Once on probation last October, Kelly left the bail hostel where he was obliged to stay and then vanished.
The convict developed a penchant for posting pictures of himself living it up while on the run. Social networking sites showed photos of him on skiing holiday and in bars and restaurants.
But it was a beachfront sunset photo which enabled detectives to identify the tree-lined promenade and the architecture as Alicante.
The organised crime unit in the UK alerted the Spanish police who spotted him driving around the Costa Blanca last month. Kelly was arrested and held on a European Arrest Warrant before being extradited to the UK.
The British unit praised the Spanish police, saying: "They don't like having British criminals living on the Spanish coast believing they are immune from the authorities so they were more than helpful. Once we had got the warrant they were very keen to detain him."
Comments
Is this a dig at the Portuguese Police and their notorious 'helpfulness' over the years when assisting with the hunt for the 'missing Madeline McCann' ?
But note that this is central Spanish Costas ... would the Spanish Police nearer Gibraltar - with, as they see it, a peninsula full of British 'criminals' (*** cigarette and drug smugglers) - have been as helpful ?
That said - the committee is still puzzled how a Spanish nurse known to have been involved with ebola treatment, having complained 3 times of feeling unwell - just gets given paracetemol.
Costing the life of her dog - and possibly, but hopefully not, herself..