WICKHAM residents were relieved to see the return of a commemorative jubilee post box topper - just hours after it was pinched by thieves.

People were left outraged after noticing the crafted topper, which took hours to make, had been removed from a post box in the Square overnight - despite being secured by cable ties.

An appeal was launched on social media to try and find the culprit, with groundsman Paul Collins even offering a £50 reward to whoever returned the 'work of art' to its rightful place.

Sandie Rawles said: "Whoever stole this post box topper last night please return it, there has been so much work which has gone in to this. It’s not fair that someone has stolen it - is nothing safe these days?"

However, within an hour of the appeal going live - and the incident being reported to the police - the topper was back, sitting pride and place on top of the postbox in the nick of time for tomorrow's jubilee festivities - much to the delight of worried locals.