AN historic statue has been returned home thanks to the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

The Spewing Laddie, which is worth thousands of pounds, was stolen from a garden off Preston New Road, Blackburn, last week and its owner made an appeal in our newspaper for its safe return.

And the publicity obviously struck a chord with one honest soul in Lancashire, who recognised the artwork as the piece he had bought from a trader on Preston Market.

Owner Phil Wilson said: "We are so relieved to get it back and it is all thanks to the Evening Telegraph.

"It appears the statue turned up on Clitheroe Market where another trader bought it for his garden. But his partner didn't like it so he put it on his own stall in Preston.

"Somebody bought it from him, but then recognised it in the paper and returned it to the stallholder. He got in touch with us and we identified it at the police station and now it is back in its rightful place." The statue of a cherubic boy, which would have originally spouted water from its mouth, is more than 150 years old and is considered part of Blackburn's heritage having appeared in books about the town's history.

The statue has been in Mr Wilson's family since 1912 and takes pride of place on top of six foot high stone plinth in his garden.

He said: "We are really pleased to get it back. This just goes to show that there are some honest people out there."

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