We're back together!

DELIGHTED Jack Dobson has been reunited with the motoring love of his life – after spotting the beloved Land Rover he lost to thieves three years ago for sale on an internet auction site.

And his insurance company isn't even going to ask Jack to repay the compensation he was given after the theft. Affectionately known as 'The Old Girl', the 1964 vehicle first arrived in Jack's life 11 years ago, discovered derelict in a barn.

"I bought it when I was 16 years old and then spent a year rebuilding it with my dad," said Jack, from Rezare, near Launceston.

"It ended up costing a lot more than we thought to get it on the road but it became a real part of the family. Me and the Land Rover were synonymous together. I learned to drive in it and went to school and did my A-levels and University with it. It has great sentimental value but it was stolen two-and-a half years ago while I was visiting friends just outside Bath.

"My girlfriend and I tried everything we could to get it back.

"Then in July this year I spotted it for sale on an internet auction site. It was advertised in Weymouth, Dorset.

"When I found it I was worried I would not have the opportunity to get it back.

"I spent a year rebuilding it so I know every nut and bolt on it. I recognised the picture of the engine bay because I had spent so many hours with my head under the bonnet.

The car had been resprayed red from its original colour of black, and its leaking soft top had been replaced with a hard top.

Jack alerted police who confirmed it was his 'Old Girl'.

"The people selling it were completely innocent and not involved in the original theft," said Jack, who is grateful to Dorset Police for their help in the vehicle's recovery.

"The vehicle is not worth a lot but has huge sentimental value. It was amazing to see it after all this time," said Jack.

When his beloved Land Rover was stolen he made a claim on his insurance, and the company paid out.

Adam Cracknell, of Norwich Union and RAC Media Relations, said: "After an insurance company has paid out for a motor theft claim and the car is recovered, by rights the insurer then effectively owns that car, but in this instance, as Jack had put so many hours into his investigations, Norwich Union made the decision as a goodwill gesture to present the vehicle back to him, red ribbon included."

Said Jack: "I really have a strong bond with the vehicle. It was just irreplaceable and when it was taken I was so devastated it was almost like losing a member of the family."