A PLYMOUTH man was amazed to find his television has been living it up in London while he spent the summer with his parents in Glenholt.

PE teacher Shaun Manley only realised what 'James the TV' had been up to when it added him as a friend on the social networking site Facebook and posted pictures of itself sightseeing in the capital.

Shaun, 22, said: "It seems the TV has had a better summer than me."

Shaun, who now works at a school in Hackney, London, said he had left the state-of-the-art 42-inch flat-screen telly with some friends as he was spending the summer holidays with his parents before moving into a different flat.

His friend Huw Levis took the television under his wing, named it James and took it to landmarks across London.

Huw, 25, said he it was just a fun way to wind his friend up.

"We were just having a laugh," he said. "It was a wind up that's really escalated."

He added: "Shaun loves his telly, but we took it to some quite cultural places, whereas it's stuck with football and Hollyoaks with Shaun. We've made it a bit more of a culture vulture."

James the TV has been pictured by Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern and other famous landmarks, including its spiritual home, BBC Television Centre.

Shaun, who admits he's a "huge TV fan", said he is planning to get the TV back when he returns to London this weekend.

He said: "When I first saw it I thought it was just some rubbish trying to add me on Facebook. Then I saw it was my TV, standing in front of Big Ben.

"I wasn't very happy, because it's a £700 TV and I saw it in the middle of a bridge."

Former Estover Community College pupil Shaun, who plays football for Saltash United, studied at Marjon to become a teacher, and then moved to London for work.

He said: "When I moved to London I went to all the landmarks, so it was strange to see the telly there."

James now has more than 150 friends, and is keen to make even more.

You can find him on Facebook by searching for 'James the TV'.