CARY — Thieves keep breaking into a Cary man's house, so he set up a trap. He caught one burglary on videotape.

Dan Cunningham says thieves have ransacked his home 16 times in the past four years. He says there have been so many burglaries on his block that neighbors make sure someone is at home at all times.

He decided to fight back, hooking up four $40 home-surveillance cameras to his VCR. Last week, he caught a burglary on tape. Three men broke into his front window. The thieves do not appear to know they are on videotape.

"I hope that somebody catches them before I do," Cunningham says. He estimates it will cost him $20,000 to replace everything the thieves ripped off.

"They've been stealing tools that I work with, the computer that I work on," he says. "Anything that's not tied down."

Cunningham realizes these thieves may not be the only ones to hit his home. He also knows capturing them on tape is just the beginning.

Cary police say it is still rare for homeowners to catch crooks on tape. They expect to see more homespun video as the cost of the equipment goes down.