Two £1 gnomes were back safely at their Brighton home today after a police chase.

The garden ornaments, Richard and Edward, were pinched just hours earlier from the front doorstep of a house in Mackie Avenue, Patcham, Brighton.

Peter Forrest, 50-year-old area manager for a car rental firm, was woken just before 3am by a noisy Ford Fiesta pulling up outside.

He said: "I watched as this bloke got out of the back seat, walked up the path and crouched down to the gnomes.

"I was standing at the window, naked, and I shouted to him, 'Put them back'. He must have seen me but he just ran to the getaway car and they sped off into the sunrise."

Mr Forrest, married with three children, got part of the car's registration number and called the police.

Officers pursued the Fiesta along the A23 from Brighton to Hickstead where the thieves pulled over. Three men from Croydon were arrested and the gnomes were returned to Patcham.

Mr Forrest said: "The officer stood at the door with a gnome in each hand and a broad smile on his face.

"The police were very gallant, but I still can't believe the thieves went to all this trouble.

"We bought the gnomes for £1 each at a market. I would probably have given them to the thieves if they wanted them that much."