A 78-year-old woman used her own detective work to track down a burglar who had stolen her jewellery during a raid on her home . Nina Anderson searched pawn shops near her house in Portsmouth , Hampshire , after gold and silver necklaces worth nearly £400 were taken from her bedroom as she watched television . The great-grandmother , who lives with husband Maurice , 75 , eventually spotted two of the stolen items in the window of a Cash and Cheque Express in the city centre two months after the raid . Her actions , which echo those of Agatha Christie character Miss Marple , led to the arrest of burglar Martin Campbell , who has now been jailed for three years . Detective : Nina Anderson , pictured with husband Maurice , 75 , searched pawn shops near their house in Portsmouth , Hampshire , after gold and silver necklaces were taken from her bedroom as she watched TV . Real-life Miss Marple : Mrs Anderson 's ( left with her husband ) actions mirror those of Agatha Christie character Miss Marple , who was played on ITV by actress Geraldine McEwan ( right ) between 2004 and 2007 . Portsmouth Crown Court heard Campbell , who had been hired to do odd jobs for the couple , forced his way into the house when Mrs Anderson was at home alone on December 28 . He was arrested by police when Mrs Anderson noticed necklaces missing from her jewellery box , but was later released with no further action . Determined to retrieve her stolen jewellery , Mrs Anderson began looking in nearby pawn shops . She spotted two of the missing necklaces in the window of a branch of Cash and Cheque Express on February 19 . The pawn shop was able to provide a bank statement , photo ID and ownership declaration that Campbell , 28 , had provided when he sold the jewellery . Mrs Anderson contacted the police , who used the records to re-arrest Campbell . Mrs Anderson 's actions mirror those of Miss Marple , a fictional character who appears in 12 of Agatha Christie 's novels , solving difficult crimes with her shrewd intelligence . Breaking in : Campbell forced his way into the house when Mrs Anderson was at home alone . Above , the damage done to the door during the raid . She said : ' I left copies of the stolen gold in pawn shops around the city . ' I found myself looking in the windows every time I passed by . Then this time something caught my eye - it was my silver necklace . 'It took my work to do it , otherwise we would n't have heard anything . ' Prosecutor Martyn Booth told Portsmouth Crown Court : 'The police had effectively concluded their investigations . Thankfully the Andersons had conducted their own enquiries . 'Enquiries established that the defendant had turned up on December 30 two days after the burglary trying to sell the items . ' An 18ct gold necklace with an image of St Anthony that Mrs Anderson 's late father gave to her when she left Italy in 1957 is still missing . Mrs Anderson said she had treated Campbell like 'one of the family ' when she hired him as a handyman and that the burglary was a 'great betrayal ' . She said : 'We ca n't trust anybody , I 'm locking myself in . I 've been through quite a lot , I 've been traumatised . I 've had to go to the doctors to get sleeping tablets . ' Barry McElduff , defending , handed a letter to the judge written by Campbell apologising to the Andersons . Mr McElduff said : 'He accepts full responsibility for he offences . He expresses remorse and shame . Temptation got the better of him . ' The father-of-one has had 24 court appearances for 40 offences , including previous burglaries in 2002 , 2003 and 2006 . He admitted burglary and fraud relating to pawning the jewellery . He was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison in addition to a suspended sentence for stealing a bicycle that he was serving when he committed the crime . Link : Cristos Charalambides , franchisee of the Cash and Cheque Express where the jewellery was found , with Nina and Maurice Anderson . The pawn shop was able to provide records that traced back to Campbell . Sentencing Campbell to three years , Judge Sarah Munro QC said : 'You describe them as people with hearts of gold . 'You threw their kindness back in their faces as you did their trust in you by breaking into their home and stealing jewellery . These offences , as I hope you understand , were a great betrayal . 'They 've led to a considerable detrimental effect on that couple . ' The officer investigating the burglary has praised the Andersons for their detective work . He said : 'It was her integrity which led to the recovery of two items . We always encourage victims of crime to check out the normal joints , second hand shops , pawn shops . ' Spotted : Determined to retrieve her stolen jewellery , Mrs Anderson began looking in nearby pawn shops . She saw two of the missing necklaces in the window of a branch of Cash and Cheque Express , pictured .
Nina Anderson 's jewellery was stolen from her bedroom as she watched TV . The 78-year-old started searching pawn shops near her Portsmouth home . Spotted two of her necklaces and records traced back to CampbellMartin Campbell . Martin Campbell , 28 , who worked for Mrs Anderson , has been jailed for 3 years .