The five-month hunt for a stolen fisherman statue has come to an end.

A life-size statue of a fisherman stolen from outside a fish and chip shop in Hothfield in February has been found in the back of a van in Charing.

The statue disappeared from the fish and chip shop in Maidstone Road, Hothfield on February 21.

Police launched an investigation and a media appeal resulted in a number of calls. Police trawled through them and line of inquiry led them to a bin area of a block of flats in Godfrey Walk, South Ashford.

Officers fished out a statue and found it had a missing arm. When they delivered the one-armed fisherman to the fish and chip shop’s owners the story took a fishy turn when it was discovered to be the wrong fisherman.

Police were floundering as they could not pla(i)ce the correct statue but then early on Thursday morning, they stopped a vehicle on the A20 in Charing and found a statue of a fisherman in the back.

Three men who were in the van were arrested, and two were released without charge. The 25-year-old accepted a formal caution for theft.