A HOUSEHOLDER tracked down the man who stole his fishing tackle and broke his nose.

Chris Nicholson confronted Steven Paul Quinn on the raider's doorstep and demanded his property back.

When Quinn denied being responsible for the shed break-in at Mr Nicholson's home in Anthea Drive, Huntington, the two men fought until Quinn agreed to hand over all the loot he stole during the raid, including most of Mr Nicholson's fishing tackle, worth £3,289.

At York Court Court, Quinn was given an 18 month jail sentence for the raid, plus 138 days unserved of a previous sentence for burglary.

The court heard he was on parole at the time of the Huntington raid from a three year jail-term for burglary and related offences.

The Honorary Recorder of York, Judge Paul Hoffman, told Quinn: "If the complainant (Mr Nicholson) hadn't been a savvy individual who made inquiries which led him to your door and to persuade you, by means I will overlook for this purpose, to indicate where the stolen property was, you would never have found yourself pleading guilty to this."

Quinn, of Pottery Lane, Heworth, York, pleaded guilty to burgling Mr Nicholson's shed, stealing a bicycle that was outside the bungalow and handling two CD players taken in a burglary in Pottery Lane. Quinn has previous convictions for shed burglaries, many in north York, and has an extensive criminmal record.

His barrister, Nicholas Johnson, said his client suffered a broken nose at the hands of Mr Nicholson.

Prosecutor Louise Reevell said Mr Nicholson realised he had found the right house when he saw his wife's stolen bicycle in Quinn's garden.

He knocked on the door and said he wanted his fishing tackle back.

When Quinn said he did not have the tackle, the two men struggled.

Mr Johnson said Quinn had made good progress in leading a crime-free life after his latest release from prison and had passed drugs tests.

Updated: 10:15 Friday, April 29, 2005