A VETERAN entertainer has met the teenager who rescued his magic trick from the river after it was thrown in by a drunken reveller.

Street magician Alfred Hill thanked 13-year-old Jonathan Lambert, from Esh Winning, in County Durham, for finding his horseshoes puzzle in the River Wear, in Durham.

It had been thrown from Framwelgate Bridge last month by a passer-by.

Jonathan, a pupil at St Leonard’s School, Durham, went out with his father Michael and family friend Robert Chapple, also from Esh Winning, to try and fish the trick out of the river using powerful magnets.

Mr Hill, a great-grandfather from Chester-le-Street, wanted to thank the trio, who are all keen anglers, for getting the trick back for him because of its sentimental value.

He said: “I’m so excited and pleased. It’s been all over the place with me. It’s my reputation and my second love, next to my wife.

"It’s as good as new – WD40 is marvellous. I tried to get another set, but you can’t get ones like this anymore. You can get cheap imitation ones but nothing as good as mine. They’re just rubbish

“The person I want to thank the most is PC Jayne Marshall. I reported it to the police and she took an interest and if it hadn’t been for her we wouldn’t have got here.”

Following an online appeal to try and catch the culprit, Mr Lambert, Mr Chapple and Jonathan decided to use a magnet on a rope to try and find it.

After about two-and-a-half hours of trying in the rain, Jonathan got lucky and pulled out the trick.

He said: “It’s been really exciting to meet Alf. I’ve seen him doing his tricks a few times so I was really pleased to find it."

Mr Lambert, a ground layer, added: “We find all sorts of old coins and shopping trolleys and bits of scaffolding – this is the most exciting thing we’ve found though.”

Following the publicity, a man turned himself into the police and has now apologised to Mr Hill.

He said: "He explained to me how sorry he was and he was very upset about it. He apologised to me and as far as I'm concerned it's finished."

PC Marshall said: "It's a fantastic ending. It really captured the public's attention and to get a happy ending is brilliant."