The bronze memorial statue to Sarah Payne reported stolen yesterday has been found.

The 2ft statue of a young girl was presented to Burhill County Primary School in Pleasant Place, Hersham,  to honour former pupil Sarah, who was murdered in 2000.

A white van was seen in the area at the time of the crime, believed to be about 1am on Wednesday.

The statue was found outside an address in Northfield Road, Cobham, this morning and was believed to have been left there between 5.15am and 7.30am.

Elmbridge Neighbourhood Sergeant Marc Nettleingham said: “The member of the public who found the statue, which is thankfully undamaged, had seen our appeal on Facebook. This once again demonstrates the power of social media to both aid our enquiries and help us return valuable stolen items to their rightful owners and also keep the local community informed.

“We are continuing to carry out a number of enquiries to identify the offenders responsible for this theft, which is particularly reprehensible given that it was presented to the school in memory of Sarah Payne and the investigation is ongoing.

“I am appealing to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area at the time of the offence, or may have seen the statue being left outside the address in Cobham or with any other information, to come forward straightaway.”

If you can help, call Surrey Police on 101 quoting reference 45150020380 or by using the online reporting system found at https://my.surrey.police.uk/splonlinereportingweb.