The owners of a haul of stolen fishing equipment worth £17,000 are being traced by police.

Detectives say the equipment, which includes rods, reels, bags, seats and bait boxes, was taken during two burglaries last year.

The first was on Connaught Road, Sutton, on July 4, and the other in Sandy Lane South, Wallington, on July 14.

Some of the reels are estimated to be worth about £700 each.

A police spokesman said one of the owners – an IT systems engineer – identified the majority of his equipment after he saw it advertised on eBay.

D Con Beveridge said she wanted to hear from anyone who had had fishing equipment stolen during a burglary in July last year in Sutton and surrounding boroughs. She can be contacted at Sutton CID on 020 8649 0747.

A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods, at his home in Morden.

The man has been bailed to return to Sutton police station.