A MOTHER said she is "over the moon" after her deaf son's £5,000 hearing aid was found.

Dannielle Malseed launched a desperate appeal on social media after her two-year-old son Thomas lost his cochlear implants on a bus journey.

Thomas is profoundly deaf and has to wear two cochlear implants, an electronic medical device, which unlike hearing aids, do the work of the damaged parts of the inner ear, known as the cochlea, to provide sound signals to the brain.

The Thomason memorial school pupil lost one of his aid's while travelling on the First Bus 524 from little Lever to Bolton on Saturday around 4pm.

His mother, aged 21, noticed he had lost the aid when they got off the bus and wrote a post on Facebook for its return, which was shared almost 6,000 times.

First Manchester also issued an appeal to its customers.

However against all odds, the needle in a haystack search, was successful and yesterday Miss Malseed was told the implant had been found at Bury bus station depot.

Miss Malseed, of Heaton, said: "I am over the moon they have found it and that I don't have pay £5,000 to replace it.

"And the fact Thomas has it back so he can hear again is an amazing feeling.

"I had a very frustrated little boy who was struggling on a daily basis without it and going to nursery unable to understand what anyone was saying.

"I was doing sign language with him but it wasn't good enough.

"He is so happy now he has it and that now he can hear me and his friends and his little brother."

Thomas was born with moderate hearing which soon deteriorated to severe.

He underwent an operation, funded by the NHS in December, to fit the devices, which are specially made to his ears and cannot be worn by anyone else.

Miss Malseed has now thanked everyone that helped to publicise the search.

She added: "I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who shared and helped find it.

"It is in working condition and just needs a wire that clips onto him which will be free.

"That will ensure he doesn't lose it again."