A quest to unravel an art mystery involving one of the region's best known artists has come to a happy end.

A children's circus painting donated to the children of her home town of Chester-le-Street by Sheila Mackie in 1958 has finally been returned to her.

And the former circus painter and highly regarded artist, whose work is sold around the world for up to £10,000, has immediately decided to give it away again.

Northumberland County Council had wanted to auction Mrs Mackie's canvass which is now worth thousands of pounds.

But after the artist, who now lives at Shotley Bridge, near Consett, saw her long lost work pictured in The Northern Echo she said she wanted the picture returned to the children of County Durham.

Northumberland County Council retrieved the painting from auction and agreed that it should be displayed at the Durham Light Infantry Museum Art Gallery in Durham City where dozens of people from Chester-le-Street took the chance to see it last June Durham County Council took the chance to ask Northumberland council if it could keep the work - but Northumberland insisted it be returned.

Six months later Northumberland council had a change of heart and given it to Mrs Mackie, who is currently working on a major website featuring her work. And the artist herself has decided to give it away again. This time the work will go Annfield Plain theatre group for both disabled and people with learning difficulties, Snug.

Grandmother and former art teacher at Blackfyne Comprehensive in Consett, Mrs Mackie said: "I have to admit I'm sick of the sight of it! I'm just glad it is going to a wonderful organisation like Snug where friends of mine participate. Now I'm just going to get on with my website."

Chairman of Snug John Hails said: "We are totally overjoyed. For us it is beyond price and we would never sell it. It is a wonderful gesture from a wonderful person." A spokesman for Northumberland County Council said the authority were happy to return the painting to its author.

Mystery still surrounds the fate of two other higher quality Sheila Mackie circus paintings which were hung at Chester-le-Street Children's Library at the same time as the remaining one in 1958. The Northern Echo photographed one of the paintings at the time it was first donated. How the remaining canvass ended up in the hands of Northumberland council is also a mystery.