A heartbroken Twickenham motorist has re-united with his stolen motorbike thanks to the powers of social media.

Nick Butcher, 54, from Heathfield North, was left devastated when his Triumph scrambler R900 Bay was taken from outside his own home on May 17.

Mr Butcher’s family immediately took to Facebook and Twitter to help them track down the customised bike and raise awareness about the crime.

Nick's daughter Rose Butcher, 22, a student at Bournemouth University, said: “ The bike was my father's and he spent years customising it and put a lot of love into making it his own.

“He got knocked off a few years ago and the bike was written off but he loved it so much that he bought it back and fixed it himself and is absolutely devastated that it has been taken.

“I have never seen him so upset.”

The family had alerted the police but it was their continuous presence and links on social media - their tweet got 260 retweets - that the bike was discovered down alley in Whitton on May 20.

“We got told about a post that had been posted on Facebook with a picture of the bike all smashed up down an alley,” the student said.

“It was amazing – this guy from Twitter even came down to help us and people were offering their vans to help us move it because it had been completely destroyed.”

The bike was severely messed up with the battery stolen, steering broken, wires cut for hot wiring, foot rest snapped, seat ripped off, number plate and other personal features missing and heavy interior damage.