THIEVES returned a teenager's £750 mountain bike after the Bolton Evening News revealed his heartbreak.

Chris Spary's dream bike was stolen just hours after he bought it.

The 16-year-old, of Crompton Way, Bolton, had scrimped and saved for months to buy the expensive GTXCR 5000.

But his dream turned to tatters within minutes. The bike was stolen after he left it unlocked outside a newsagents yards from his home while he popped inside for a paper. His mother Carol Sharples, aged 39, of Crompton Way, said: "It was his pride and joy and he was absolutely gutted. It was stolen so quickly. Chris said he saw a group of boys hanging around but thought nothing of it."

However, after the Bolton Evening News revealed his plight, the bike is back where it belongs. It was handed in at Astley Bridge police station.

Mrs Sharples said: "I want to say a big thank you to whoever returned it. Chris is over the moon. Hopefully this will teach everyone a valuable lesson as it has certainly taught him one. Children should never leave their bikes unlocked and unattended.

"He had been to work on the Saturday and returned at around 4pm to find the police had popped a note through the door telling him the bike had been handed in.

"It was very distinctive. He used all his credit on his phone calling his friends to tell them it had been returned."

Chris, a pupil at Smithills High School, bought the green and black bike last Wednesday in Leigh. He had walked past it in the window of his local cycle shop every morning for four months before he could afford to buy it.

Mrs Sharples added: "He is delighted and has learnt his lesson. A big thank you also to everyone at the BEN."