'Christmas miracle' as stolen presents are returned to family just in time for the big day

• Watch Richard Payne's report here

A family has been reunited with their stolen Christmas presents just hours before the big day.

Police recovered the gifts from a car in central Bristol but didn't know who they belonged to before their social media appeal returned them to their rightful owners.

Dave Jones, from Longwell Green in South Gloucestershire, couldn't believe his luck when he received the call to say they'd been found.

He said: "I thought they'd gone for good. We were in the process of buying more presents for the children, but then people told me about the police social media post and I got in touch.

"We knew they were ours from the labels and we're so grateful to the police. It's incredible."

A man and woman have been arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. They remain on police bail while further enquiries are carried out.

Dave had stored the presents in his car but found the boot had been raided overnight.

Sarah added: "It's a Christmas miracle. I can't believe we've been reunited with them. When that happens you think you'll never see them again."

Acting Insp Matt Boiles of Avon and Somerset Police said: “We’re so pleased to be able to return these stolen Christmas presents. This is a great example of the power of our public appeals and the support we get from our communities.

"We hadn’t previously linked the presents recovered from the back of a car until we issued photos of the wrapping and labels yet within hours David and Sarah had contacted us after seeing the appeal on social media."

Police staff even gave their own time to rewrap the presents which had to be opened to find any identifying information.