A London clergyman is appealing for information after his late wife's jewellery was stolen – and he almost caught the thief in the act.

Rev Simon Harvey is the Vicar of St Mary's Church, Islington, and took to Twitter to report the theft and even post a picture of a man he'd disturbed in his house. Even though he ran out, the man managed to take sentimentally valuable jewellery with him – including several rings given to Mrs Harvey by her husband over their 30-year marriage.

His wife Jennifer died in March after a short illness aged 52. On Wednesday afternoon, 25^th May, Mr Harvey returned to his house and disturbed the man who pushed past him. He managed to take a photo of the back of the culprit, but as he chased him out of the house, the man slipped off into the crowds on Upper Street – one of the major north London shopping and leisure streets, where St Mary's Church has stood for hundreds of years.

Mr Harvey told the Evening Standard, "I would like to have a long talk with him about what this all means. He needs to know how hurtful it is to lose these precious things that I thought I'd keep forever."

He carried on, "I'd like to listen to this man's story too. I'm praying for him, that somehow out of all this mess there could be redemption for him as well as healing for me, and justice done."

Hundreds of people have already retweeted the initial tweet which featured the photo of the burglar along with Mr Harvey's plea for information:

In a display of grace in the midst of great suffering, the Anglican priest then tweeted a follow up which simply read, "Thank you for amazing response! Please join me in praying for the man who stole my wife's jewellery. Light needs to come into this darkness".