A VAIN teenager was arrested by police after allegedly leaving a picture of himself at the scene of a crime on the screensaver of his mobile phone.

Police said the alleged bungling burglar dropped the phone as he made off from an attempted break-in of a shed and greenhouse in Wilkie Avenue, Burnley on Saturday, little realising he had left officers the best possible lead for their investigation.

Police called to the scene used the handy clue to arrest the youngster.

Officers were called to the house after the burglar was discove-red try-ing to break into a shed. The thief was chased off and during a search of the area a police dog found the mobile phone, allegedly dropped by the thief as he made his getaway.

Police examined the phone and found the screensaver was a picture of a teenage boy, recognised by one of the officers investigating the case.

The 13-year-old was later arrested and charged with burglary and attempted burglary and will appear in youth court next week.

Insp Damien Darcy, of Burnley Police, said: "We were alerted by the homeowner that someone had tried to break into his shed. The mobile phone we discovered had a screensaver of a young lad."

The youngster will appear in Reedley Youth Court on Monday, February 27.