A rare monkey that went missing earlier this week has been returned to Chessington World of Adventures after being handed in to police.

SpongeBob, a two-year-old endangered Bolivian squirrel monkey, was found by a member of the public being played with by some children in Clapham.

The Leatherhead Road park said Bob was fine after his three day ordeal, but had lost weight and was still nervous and stressed.

He was being looked after by vets before being returned to his awaiting female monkey fan club.

Thieves broke into the park on Sunday night and Bob was discovered missing the next morning.

Police are still appealing for information about the crime.

Detective constable Dave Burton from Kingston CID said: "The return of Sponge Bob is a fantastic result and we are delighted he is safe and well.

"We are still working closely with the team from Chessington to investigate this incident."

SpongeBob was born in South Africa and only arrived in the UK at the end of 2005.

He has spent the past three months at the zoo and he is the only breeding male in the group of 10 monkeys.

When he went missing Sonia Freeman, Head of Mammals at the Zoo, said: "We are devastated that he is gone as he is a much loved member of the zoo with his cheeky personality.

"This was obviously a pre-planned strike and we are deeply disturbed that anyone would go to such lengths to steal Bob from his home here at the Zoo.

"We have spent three months settling him into his new home - and this can cause long-term damage for the whole troop."

Anyone with information call Kingston Police on 020 8247 4945.