A statue of Jesus Christ has made a miraculous return after being spirited away from a shop window.

Thieves rolled away the stone carving in a smash and grab on an undertakers in Brighton.

But the 2ft-high sculpture was found again after being dumped in a carrier bag beneath a bush on The Level.

The statue has now been returned to the offices of Belmont Funeral Homes in Islingword Road.

The marble Jesus was taken along with two other statues at the end of last month when thieves threw a computer monitor through the front window.

Funeral directors Alec Piper, 36, and Lea Mylton-Thorley, 23, are now praying for the safe return of the other two stone sculptures.

The statues were not only expensive - worth about £500 each - but also had great sentimental value.

Yesterday, the pair thanked The Argus and the mystery man who handed the Jesus statue to the police.

Mr Piper said: "Whoever took it must have got frightened by all the Press coverage and dumped it.

"We would really like to thank whoever it was who handed our Jesus statue in. If his picture had not appeared in The Argus, I don't think we would have got him back."

Mr Piper added: "The statue is not as common as the other two and whoever stole it would have had trouble trying to sell it on.

"It's great to have the Jesus statue back because it was our favourite but I don't think we will see the other two again."

Although the statue is back on display, the couple have taken extra security precautions.

Mr Piper said: "We have put Jesus back in the front window but we will be taking him out the back every evening so we don't go through the same thing again.

"We have also installed CCTV in the shop to act as a deterrent. It is something I never thought we would have to do but it's cheaper than having to keep paying for new windows."