A CAMERA lost on Exmoor is set to be reunited with its owner in Australia after spreading the word through Facebook.

The camera was found up on Winsford Hill in the winter by Marian Lloyd, who initially took it to the police and Exmoor National Park Authority but nobody claimed the camera.

Marian then took the camera to Tony Howard at the Village Shop in Withypool, who had previous success reuniting a lost item on the moor with an owner through social media.

Mr Howard put a post featuring some of the pictures on camera on social media with an appeal for people to share and spread the word to see if the owner could be tracked down.

The photos featured a family on various holidays across Europe, and the post soon went viral.

As of this week, Mr Howard's appeal had been shared 3,250 people and been seen by more than 270,000 times.

Last week a lady called Lucy Roberts recognised one of the people in the photos, a man called Clive Knapman, and got in touch with him.

Mr Knapman, who was then on holiday in the Scilly Isles got in touch with Mr Howard, and explained that the camera belonged to a friend of his who lives out in Tasmania.

"It certainly shows the positive side of social media," Mr Howard said.

"It was a surprise we did manage to track down the owner but it is a really nice thing.

"The photos are priceless to that family and cannot be replaced so I am pleased we will be able to reunite them with the family.

"I would like to thank all of those who shared our appeal."

The Village Shop at Withypool also features the Post Office so Mr Howard said there would not be a problem sending the camera back to Australia.