A MORECAMBE father has been re-united with a priceless picture of his late son - thanks to a kind-hearted Citizen reader.

As we reported last week, Mark Knight's only picture of his son, Ben, who died aged just three months old from Halls-Pallister syndrome, had been removed from a headstone by vandals.

Ben spent most of his short life receiving treatment for the debilitating illness, which affects the development of the heart and lungs, at St Mary' s Hospital, Manchester, but nurses were able to take a handful of priceless pictures of him without wires or tubes and with his eyes open.

One of those pictures was placed in the headstone at Torrisholme Cemetery on Westgate, which the family visits most Sundays.

Last week it was found to be missing.

Mark reported the vandalism to police, and appealed publicly for the pictured to be returned, but feared he would never see the photograph again.

However, the Citizen was contacted on Monday by a reader from Morecambe, who had seen our article and realised it was the same picture, which his son had found on the Morecambe to Lancaster cycle path.

We put him in touch with Mark and ensured that the invaluable picture was returned safely.

Mark said: "The man whose son found the picture was very obliging and told me that he had been away for the weekend in Scotland.

"When he saw the story in the Citizen, he did not instantly make the connection with the picture his son had found.

However, then he must have realised that it was the picture of Ben.

"He told me that his son had been walking down the cycle path and seen the picture close to Asda and had brought it home with him.

"I'm gobsmacked.

It's quite unbelievable.

I just want to thank the Citizen and the police for all their help."

Mark is returning the photo to the stonemason and plans to have it put back in the headstone and placed back in the cemetery as soon as possible.

"The family has pulled together and we were able to find one or two more pictures of Ben.

"But I have asked the printers to make a few more copies, just in case," added Mark.