The two-year-old was abducted from a Bootle shopping centre in 1993, before being tortured and killed by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson - then both aged 10 - in a crime that shocked the nation.

Two cherub statues next to James' grave in Kirkdale Cemetery were damaged twice in six weeks this year – once in February  and again this month. A fundraiser to repair the headstone amassed more than 23,000 pounds. This month, a 78-year-old man, from Kirkby, was arrested on suspicion of theft and criminal damage.

In a post on the Facebook page of the James Bulger Memorial Trust charity, his family said they had "found the 2 vandalised cherub heads" following a tip-off. "We have also now found the original sleeping cherub and a couple of other items stolen from James's resting place". They said items had also been seized from other graves and police would return them to the families concerned. (BBC)