A LIFE-SIZE fibreglass pig containing the ashes of a Second World War veteran that was taken from his daughter's home has now safely been returned.

Jane Gilmore said she was “very relieved” the ornament, which contain the ashes of Norman Simmons, had come back in one piece.

A piglet had also been taken and has now been returned.

The full-time writer from Bloxham said: “I had a phone call from a gentleman who found them in a field while he was walking his dog. I’m so very relieved I wasn’t expecting to get them back.”

She added: “It’s restored my faith in human nature.”

Norman Simmons, who died in 2008 at the age of 82, served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War before spending 55 years as a pig farmer in Essex.

Mrs Gilmore, 50, bought the ornaments for £750 about a year ago and when an ear broke off the large pig before it was placed in her garden, she decided to place some of her late father's ashes inside.

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