Special statue back home

A Flaxmere grandfather is "absolutely stoked" that a stolen bulldog statue made with the ashes of his granddaughter has been returned.

Just two weeks ago Karl O'Neale returned home to find the statue had been snatched from the front porch of his Portsmouth Rd home.

Back then he said the thieves didn't know what was in it, yet if they knew it contained the ashes of his stillborn granddaughter, it would "spook" them.

After thinking it would never be returned, the statue was returned to his front garden on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

"I was absolutely stoked all right - this is a great result," he said yesterday.

"I just want to thank the people that returned it: They did the right thing."

The statue is a heavy, solid concrete mould of a brown dog sitting with its head tilted to one side.

"It's a mobile grave. If you get someone damaging a grave you're not very happy, are you?"

Mr O'Neale said now the public knew what was inside the statue, he didn't think it would be stolen again. "That said, I think I might just bolt it down this time."