A thief who walked off with a religious Jew's fur hat was caught - because the owner's name was written on the inside.
Shtreimels – large fur hats lined with velvet – have been worn by married Charedi men for centuries and can be worth up to £4,000 .
Because of their value, owners like to keep shtreimels safe and some even place labels with their names and phone numbers on the inside.
It was this kind of caution that wrong-footed a Brooklyn thief who apparently broke into a car one night and stole a shtreimel from it.
When he tried to offload the £1,400 hat on a nearby shopkeeper for the cut price of £220, the buyer soon discovered that it was not his to sell.
The shopkeeper called the real owner and the hat was returned. The thief, who claims he found the hat in a pile of rubbish, was arrested.
