AN £800 mountain bike recovered by police before it had been reported stolen has been reunited with its schoolboy owner -- thanks to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

And the story had a twist for 11-year-old Lloyd Bury (pictured).

Richard Bury said son Lloyd's bike had gone missing from the shed but they had not realised it had gone until two days later when a story appeared in the Telegraph.

"When Lloyd got home from school we gave him the bad news that his bike had been stolen and the good news that we had it back!" said Mr Bury, who lives in the Whitehall area of Darwen.

" We would like to thank the police and the Telegraph for all their help."

To help ensure his Smith UK mountain bike is less attractive to thieves in the future Lloyd, 11, took it to Darwen police station on Saturday where crime prevention officers were holding a post-code stamping session for bikes and mini-scooters.

A police spokesman said stamping helps in crime prevention and detection and urged anyone with two wheeled transport to contact their community officer or local station to get details of when and where they can get bikes stamped.

Lloyd's bike was recovered after police saw a man with it in the early hours of the morning.

A 30-year-old man from Bolton had to be released on police bail because the bike had not been reported stolen.