A tot's parents got a shock when a tricycle stolen from outside their house a month ago was returned.

The Gazette reported the story on October 15 when Reggie Donelly's mother, Jenny Donnelly, 37, of Goshawk Gardens, Hayes, said she had gone as far as setting up a group on the social networking site Facebook to express her anger.

After reading the story, staff at The Entertainer toy shop in The Mall Pavilions shopping centre in Uxbridge gave Regggie a new trike, which was also reported by the Gazette on October 22.

But now the old trike has been returned to the family after a neighbour read the story in the paper.

Andrew Donnelly, Reggie's father, said: "It was pouring with rain and the guy came with a bottle of Foster's in his hand.

"We don't know his name but he said he found the trike in Adelphi Crescent, where it had been left around the same day it had been stolen.

"He said he took the trike into his garden, and after reading the story put two and two together."

Mrs Donnelly said: "We're made up, shocked and surprised. The theft got a lot of publicity, so I guess whoever took it decided to leave it. But we don't need two trikes, so now we're thinking of giving the new one we got to charity."