A 12-YEAR-old boy has been reunited with his stolen bicycle after a sharp-eyed reader spotted it by a communal bin.

A reader recognised the £500 Carrera bike after reading about Liam Windiate's plight in the Worcester News.

We previously reported that Liam faced the prospect of walking miles to school because of the theft from his home in Windermere Drive, Warndon, Worcester.

His mum, Carly-Marie Smith, aged 32, was delighted when the pedal bike was returned on Friday and thanked the mystery reader for phoning the police.

The reader, who wants to stay anonymous, said: "I looked [at the bin] and I saw the bike. I love bikes myself.

"I thought 'that's a good bike, what's it doing there?'.

"I was reading the paper in bed last night and then said 'look at this...that's the bike'.

"My missus said that poor kid, he can't get to school."

The good samaritan then rang the police and watched as an officer collected the stolen item from Randwick Drive, Worcester.

Police confirmed that the bicycle was recovered because of a phone call from a member of the public and said that no one had been arrested.

The bike was taken from the side of Ms Smith's house on either Monday, October 9, or Tuesday, October 10.

The mother-of-four said her son has not had much luck as his £900 motorcycle was also stolen almost a year ago.