A STOLEN family heirloom has been returned to its rightful owner after police successfully recovered them.

Simon Elias discovered the pocket watch and car keys had been taken from his house in November 2014.

The watch had been presented to Simon's great uncle Corporal Samuel Jones by the people of Treherbert on attaining the military medal in 1917 for services in world war one.

He received a call from South Wales Police to inform him that they had found the watch and that police had arrested a man in connection with the theft.

Simon also confirmed that police had found his silver grey Volvo in Cwmbran in February 2015.

Simon said: "Although it was slightly damaged, it is a fantastic relief to have it back. I thought I would never see it again. "

Beth Fisher, great great niece of Samuel Jones had started a social media campaign to find the watch which gained a lot of publicity.

Simon added: "The police have done a very good job and should be highly commended and having removed some unsavoury people from society for a while and making it a safer place."

The watch is now out for repairs following the minor damage that was done to it but Simon said he was "amazed" that more damage wasn't done to it.

A spokesman for South Wales police said: "I can confirm that a man was arrested in connection with the burglary after he was caught with a watch in his possession."