A beloved hedge sculpture kept outside a Bishop Auckland bakery has been returned after it was mistakenly taken by bin men.

The hedgehog, known as 'Horace', was spotted by the Durham County Council bin team and they assumed it had been fly-tipped near the bakery.

The staff of the Hedgehog Bakery were distraught and multiple posts were put out on Facebook about the disappearance of the landmark sculpture.

Emily and her husband and sister run the bakery and they were devastated at the loss of the statue as it was made for them to commemorate the bakeries one year anniversary.

Watch the moment Horace was taken:

Today the 31-year-old described how she doesn't think they would have seen Horace again if not for the support from customers on social media sharing the appeal.

She said: "He was returned shortly before closing yesterday.

"While we obviously have to take Durham County Council's word for it that it was a genuine mistake we do still find it somewhat suspicious.

"Ultimately we're just glad to have him back where he belongs and pray he doesn't do any more disappearing acts!

"In fairness, he has indeed been returned, and we have had an apology. Horace has suffered some damage during his kidnapping but thankfully the worker had him mended before finding out he was our lost Hog.

"We're very thankful for all of our customers, online followers and locals that got behind us to share the story far and wide, I don't think we'd have seen him again had the post not got the traction it did."

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James Lee, Durham County Council’s refuse and recycling manager, said: “We can only apologise to the Hedgehog Bakery for any distress caused and are pleased to confirm the statue has been returned to the business this afternoon.

“A member of our local bin crew made a genuine mistake in mistaking the statue for waste as it was kerbside, where large items are often left for collection. As soon as we realised the mistake we contacted the bakery to apologise and arrange for the statue to be returned.

“We would like to wish the bakery every success in the future.”