A man who hacked into Facebook from the UK has been jailed for eight months following an investigation by the Met, North Yorkshire Police and the FBI.

Glenn Steven Mangham, (26), of Cornlands Road, York, pleaded guilty to three charges of computer misuse offences at Southwark Crown Court.

UK forces were contacted after an investigation in May 2011 found that there had been a security breach at Facebook in San Jose, USA. The matter was passed onto the FBI who established the source originated from the UK.

The Met’s Police Central e-crime Unit then made inquiries to identify the suspect.

Det Ch Insp Terry Wilson of the PCeU said: "This was a dynamic response that saw PCeU officers - working alongside the FBI and North Yorkshire Police - quickly recovering stolen intellectual property."

Mangham did not attempt to steal personal data which resulted in him receiving a lighter sentence. The Met instead said he had hacked into Facebook’s internal account and taken “intellectual material”.

His home was searched on June 2 2011 where computers and storage devices were taken away by police.

Mangham was also given a serious crime prevention order restricting his access to the internet.

Alison Saunders, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London said: “Glenn Steven Mangham has pleaded guilty to two computer misuse offences, one of them the most serious offence under the Computer Misuse Act which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.

“This was the most extensive and flagrant incidence of social media hacking to be brought before British courts. Fortunately, this did not involve any personal user data being compromised. We worked closely with the Met’s Police Central e-Crime Unit, the FBI and the US Department of Justice to prepare a strong and compelling prosecution case and faced with that case, Mangham has admitted responsibility for his acts.”

She added: “He claimed his intention was to improve security but the method he decided to use to achieve this was actually illegal.”