A Punch and Judy puppeteer who had his family of dolls stolen has been reunited with them after what he said were the worst 24 hours of his life.

Konrad Fredericks had been performing at the St John's centre in Isleworth and was making his way home when thieves struck at the train station.

Konrad, who has performed all over the world, said: "I put my bag down at the platform for a minute while I waited for the 2.49pm train. When I turned around it had gone.

"It was like a wrenching feeling in the gut. Not only is it my livelihood but 34 years of history, and these dolls are like family members to me. They had just disappeared."

Konrad decided the best way to get them back was to offer a reward as the dolls only had value to him.

The following day, he was returning to Isleworth with leaflets offering £500 for their safe return and was overjoyed to get a call from South West trains saying his dolls were safe and well.

He said: "Obviously whoever took the bag realised there were only dolls in there and discarded it.

"Luckily, some honest person has handed it in. Even luckier, they didn't look at the bottom of the bag where my digital camera was. I still can't believe I've got them back.

"I told the lost property guy at Waterloo that I felt like giving him a kiss, but I don't think he thought it was a good idea."