An irreplaceable hat that mysteriously vanished almost a month ago has been returned to its rightful owner with a little help from the Packet.

On August 31, the Packet reported that a unique Bass top hat, which belonged to former steam-car enthusiast Harold Harry, had been stolen from a car on a stop-off in Falmouth during a steam-car run from St Agnes.

An appeal went out for its return and nothing more was heard, until surprised Packet staff arrived at work on Monday morning to find a mysterious plastic bag in reception.

Further investigation revealed that the bag contained the missing hat - complete with a cutting of the newspaper article about its disappearance. Efforts were immediately made to reunite the unusual headgear with its current owner, Dr Bob Dyke, from Penzance, who inherited the hat when Mr Harry died, aged 88, last winter.

Mr Dyke said: "I'm delighted. These hats go all over the place with us. They've been on the car for 14 years."

Mr Dyke, a steam-car enthusiast who owns four vehicles, had customised the hat for Mr Harry with the word "Bass", reflecting Mr Harry's love of the beer.

"He was a great Bass drinker," explained Mr Dyke. "He was my polisher for years and helped me restore the car."

He said it was a "very sad" day when, having stopped off at The Moor in Falmouth for a drink, he returned to the car to find the hat had disappeared.

"It wasn't the monetary value, it was that somebody made it for us, back in 1993. We stopped on The Moor and somebody probably decided that their need was greater for it than mine. It was good of them to return it," he added.

The hat - one of a set of four - is once again taking pride of place on the car and Mr Dyke insists that no changes will be made. It will continue to be left in the car when it is unattended - following tradition.