A discarded nectarine stone was the final piece of the jigsaw for officers in the hunt for a suspect in a Farnham burglary earlier this year.

Diego Pena, 28, of Grosvenor Road, Aldershot, was sentenced to 18 months behind bars at Guildford Court on Tuesday (May 24) after pleading guilty to burglary. Alongside the prison sentence, Pena has also been told to pay a victim surcharge of £156.

On February 2 this year, a homeowner was alarmed to find Pena hiding in the en suite bathroom of their house in Searle Road, having already ransacked the victim’s bedroom and used their computer.

Pena had also eaten a nectarine, leaving the stone behind in the utility room.

When found, he ran out and managed to escape. But the nectarine stone was examined by Surrey Police’s forensics team who discovered Pena’s DNA linking him to the scene.

As a result of this, officers attended Pena’s home address on February 17 where he was arrested on suspicion of burglary.

Sergeant Chris North of Surrey Police’s western burglary team said: “Pena had been acting suspiciously in the area earlier in the day with neighbours having reported that he had knocked on their doors asking for glasses of water.

“Thanks to house to house enquiries and the fantastic work of our forensic team, we were able to catch Pena and punish him for his crimes.”