IT'S a case of gnome sweet gnome for one lucky leprechaun who has been returned to its owner after being taken all over the world by gnome-nappers.

When Eve Stuart-Kelso opened the front door she got the shock of her life to see her garden gnome, which had been snatched from her Longlevens home, standing on the step.

Next to him was a suspicious-looking parcel and the package turned out to be a photograph album with pictures of the gnome on his travels.

The photos show him abseiling down a mountain, swimming in the sea, standing in a shark's mouth and riding a motorbike.

They also show a group, which could be the gnome-nappers, but their identity remains a mystery.

The grandmother-of-three said: "My leprechaun went missing months and months ago but I had totally forgotten about it. I opened the door and there it was – it was such a shock.

"He looked quite badly damaged and there was a tightly wrapped parcel next to him. I was very alarmed about the parcel but then curiosity overcame my alarm and I opened it.

"I wondered if it might explode but then I saw it was a photo album and opened it up."

Inside were pictures of the gnome in South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and Laos.

The album also included immigration stamps from the countries and a note from the gnome explaining his abscence.

New Zealand was his favourite destination, he said.

But, despite his grand travels, there was no mention of the little adventurer finding a pot of gold.

Eve said: "It was the strangest gift I have ever received.

"It was a wonderful cheery surprise – it is nice to get some good news.

"I just keep thinking how funny it is. It puts a smile on my face to see all the people who met on his travels – it's just unbelievable."

Eve said she has no idea who is responsible for the gnome's travels.

"It is beautifully made and beautifully written", she said.

"It is intriguing because someone has gone to so much trouble to give it to a complete stranger."

She said she will be telling her grandchildren Sophie, 14, Ellie, 13, and Piers, 13, all about it.

"Although they may be disbelieving at first," she said.

A Gloucestershire police spokesman said it had no record of the gnome going missing, but added: "Any theft of another person's property, even if this is carried out for a joke, will be treated as a crime by the police. What may seem like a laugh to one person can cause another person distress."

Hello!

First of all I feel I should explain my prolonged absence...

A gnome's life is full of time for reflection, and whilst surveying your front garden one summer morning , I began to get somewhat itchy feet.

I came to the conclusion that the world is such a big place and that there is surely more to life than watching the daily commuter traffic and allowing passing cats to urinate on you.

I thus decided to free myself from the doldrums of the Shire and seek adventure in foreign lands!

My seven months of travel have taken me across three continents, twelve countries and more time zones than I can possibly remember.

There have been high points, there have been low points and there have been positively terrifying points, but I have survived and thrived, no small thanks to my travel companion with whom I have shared all these moments.