The 'Becky the Buzzard' artwork which was stolen while it was on display in Coalville has been returned following a plea to the thief.

Created by animal artist Art by Cerys for the Coalville Outdoor Gallery, a copy was on show in Oliver's Walk.

But it was taken and a social media post from North West Leicestershire District Council urged the thief to 'do the right thing'.

Just a day later though, Cerys reported the artwork had been found.

She gave an update online and said: "Thankfully, the piece has now been found and will hopefully be put back on display very soon!

"A big thank you to the rangers and the staff at the Century Theatre and cafe for finding it and keeping it safe!

"I'm also extremely appreciative of all those who have shared, liked and commented the posts about this missing piece, so thank you!!"

The council post yesterday (Monday) read: "MISSING! Have you seen Becky the Buzzard?

"A lot of you will have seen this beautiful creation by Art By Cerys which was on display in the Coalville Outdoor Gallery recently.

"A copy has since been put on display along Oliver's Walk.

"Unfortunately someone REALLY liked it and has decided to take it home with them and sadly depriving many others of the chance of seeing this artwork close up!

"So we have a dilemma, should we replace this and risk it being taken again? Or perhaps it will be returned for others to enjoy.

"Come on, do the right thing!"

Cerys only posted about the artwork last weekend on Facebook and said: "I apologise, but I'm posting about my buzzard painting again (I'm just really proud of it!).

"A copy of the painting has been installed along Oliver's Walk in Coalville (the path that leads from Belvoir Road to Snibston Colliery Park).

"Nine other paintings have been installed along this walkway; it's great to be able to study the artwork up close to see all the detail and effort that has been put into them!

"The copies are also to scale, just in case there are some who didn't realise just how big these paintings are."

North West Leicestershire District Council added today (Wednesday): "Thanks to the rangers at Snibston Colliery Park, Becky the Buzzard has been found and is now back on display along Oliver's Walk.

"Luckily, the rangers managed to spot the culprits on CCTV and were able to locate the missing artwork.

"We hope that others will learn from this and leave the artwork on display for everyone to enjoy.

"A big thank you to everyone that shared our previous post and helped to support her safe return."