Little Charlie Brown is all smiles after getting his stolen
wheelchair back.

The four-year-old's chair was taken from outside the family
home in Havengore Avenue, Gravesend, last month just before he was
due to start at Ifield School.

But it has now been returned – after being found in a skip.

The schoolboy cannot walk or talk, suffers from severe learning
difficulties and has autism.

The discovery follows a search by friends and relatives.

Charlie's mum Lianne Brown said: "It's absolutely brilliant.
When we put him in it he was clapping his hands and he was really
excited. Our other little girl was pushing him around in it.

"I really want to thank everyone who has helped us, all the
readers. The support we've had has been incredible."

Charlie suffers from chromosome 10Q26 deletion syndrome, which
affects just 69 other people in the world.

It means he has to be force-fed and leaves him the size of a
two-year-old.

The wheelchair went missing from the garden on August 19.

Charlie had been shopping with his mum and Mrs Brown forgot to
bring it in.

People across Denton turned out to help search for the chair
across Denton Marshes, along the Thames waterfront and in people's
gardens.

The wheelchair, worth between £400-£800, was handed in to the
organisation Gasp, in Brewhouse Yard, Gravesend, which helps people
recovering from addictions to rebuild their lives.

Charlie with his parents
Lianne and Archie and two of their other children, Shannon, two,
and Priscilla, five months

It was found by Gareth Measday, who regularly searches skips for
goods to sell on to raise money for the service.

The 33-year-old said: "I'm working on an allotment project we
have running and regularly go skip surfing to find things that
people have thrown out that we can use and sell on because we're
short of money.

"I thought it must be worth something so I brought it back and
was then told about the story so I'm really glad that they've got
it back and we've got the reward money to help us too – we're both
winners."

GM Motors boss Ian Gay offered a £500 reward to anyone who
returned the chair.

The reward money came at a crucial time for Gareth Measday, who
needed the cash to travel to Leicester to attend his father's
funeral.

Unfortunately, Gasp was unable to provide the money and had not
received the reward in time to allow Gareth to travel.

Gareth Measday said he
found Charlie Brown's wheelchair in a skip

However, the Green Spice Foundation Charity set up by the Green
Spice restaurant in Darenth, stepped in with £60 on Monday so
Gareth could travel on Tuesday.

On hearing the news of the wheelchair's safe
return, Kent Police's Insp Tony Ramskill said: "I'm delighted the
wheelchair has been returned to the family.

"On behalf of officers and the family, I would like to thank the
community for pulling together in trying to find the chair.

"The personal value of the equipment to the family was of utmost
importance and the offer of help from the community was
overwhelming.

"We continue to appeal for information regarding who took the
chair and therefore are asking for anyone who may have any
information to contact police."

Anyone with information is asked to phone Kent Police on 101.