A man caught on camera stealing a wallet from a restaurant table yesterday handed himself in to police after footage of the incident was posted on social media.

The short clip is from a mobile phone taken from security cameras at Speciality Inn on South Road in Smith’s appeared to show a man in a safety vest covering the wallet with a newspaper.

The man appeared to be talking to someone off the screen and when he lifted the paper, the wallet had gone as well.

Comments on the Facebook post said that the man’s workplace was quickly identified.

A later post said: “He went straight to the police station.”

The man was said to have claimed he was holding on to the wallet for its owner.

Fabio Di Vuolo, one of the proprietors of Specialty Inn, said the video had been put online by the customer whose wallet was stolen after he asked for a copy of the recording to help track down the thief.

The restaurant reopened on Monday after two weeks’ refurbishment, which included a new CCTV system.

Mr Di Vuolo said: “We’ve always had cameras, but we have a new system.”

He added the wallet belonged to a regular customer.

Mr Di Vuolo said: “At the end of the day, it’s not my business; it’s between two guys.”