A PLUMBER was forced to pay back £160 to a customer after vanishing with the money before Christmas -- thanks to one very persistent dad and Blackpool police.

Georgina Pullin, a veterinary nurse at Spen Corner Veterinary Centre in Blackpool, had begun to give up hope of ever getting her money back from the plumber she had called out to fix a broken water tank in December last year.

The man had asked for £170 during his visit to purchase the parts needed -- and that was the last Georgina saw of him and her money.

As Georgina didn't know where the plumber lived or even his real name she was unable to take the man in question to court.

But thanks to the sheer determination shown by her dad Alastair she is now back in pocket.

He told The Citizen: "I was not prepared to let this go and after writing lots of letters I eventually managed to stir the conscience of the Chief Constable of Lancashire.

"A sergeant from Blackpool then took up the case and tracked the man down and told him to return the money.

"He eventually did so by stuffing it through Georgina's door. I have written letters to the police and thanked them for helping my daughter regain her loss."