A STOLEN Land Rover dedicated to the memory a soldier who died in Aghanistan has been found after being hidden in dense undergrowth in Yorkshire by thieves.

At approximately midnight on June 30, Nigel Bale from Cheshire discovered that his Land Rover Defender had been stolen.

However, it was no ordinary Land Rover Defender, it is a personalised memorial to Nigel’s godson, a British soldier who lost his life in Afghanistan.

To protect what matters, Nigel had the foresight to have it fitted with a stolen vehicle recovery solution from Tracker, an investment that saw the priceless vehicle recovered by Yorkshire police less than 24 hours after it was taken.

On February 9, 2011 Nigel’s godson, Private Conrad Lewis of the 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment, became the 353rd British soldier to be killed in Afghanistan.

In his memory, Conrad’s parents set up 353, a charitable trust aiming to deliver long-term support to the military community and those affected by conflict.

Conrad’s godfather, Nigel, dedicated the £45,000 Land Rover to Conrad’s memory and to help raise awareness of 353; the 353 logo is stitched into the roll top leather dash, the parachute regiment emblem is featured on a rear external panel and the word ‘REMEMBER’ poignantly replaces ‘DEFENDER’ on the bonnet leading edge.

"Understandably we were all utterly devasted when we realised the Landie had been stolen,” said Nigel. “Despite the shock, I immediately contacted Tracker to report the theft, who in turn alerted the police and the search was on.

"I cannot describe our relief when we heard it had been located. To many people it is just a car, but to us and Conrad's family in particular, it represents so much more, so its theft was a hugely emotional and stressful experience for us all.

"We are absolutely over the moon to have it back in one piece and cannot thank Tracker and the West and South Yorkshire Police enough.”

The search was led by PC Tim Scothern, a field intelligence officer for South Yorkshire Police’s Operational Support Unit, and the vehicle was found in Ecclesfield near Sheffieldand.

PC Scothern said: “Soon after Tracker alerted us to the theft of this Land Rover the team at HQ was able to confirm a location. We immediately deployed two Tracker-equipped cars to find and recover the vehicle.

“Knowing the background of the Land Rover and its immense personal value to the family, the team was really spurred on to find it as quickly as possible.

"However, whilst we have located and recovered many stolen vehicles over the years, this one almost eluded us.

"It’s not unusual for thieves to steal a vehicle then leave it parked somewhere to check if a tracking device leads police to its whereabouts.

In this case, the Tracker signal told us that the Land Rover wasn’t taken far from where it had been stolen, but it was exceedingly well camouflaged under dense undergrowth.

"Without the teamwork between Tracker and South and West Yorkshire Police, and the onboard Tracker tech in our police cars and helicopters, it is highly unlikely we would have recovered this irreplaceable vehicle.”

Steve Whittaker, police liaison manager at Tracker, said: "Working closely with both the West and South Yorkshire Police, we were able to locate and recover the Land Rover and return it Nigel before the thieves had a chance to ship it abroad or strip it for parts.”