A tale involving an alien abduction and a phone home has bewildered the owners of an antiques centre in Farnham.

The Bourne Mill Antiques launched a probe last weekend after their ‘Green Roswell Alien’ was stolen from outside their Guildford Road premises.

The theft wasn’t even under cover of darkness as the culprit brazenly picked up the sculpture and walked off in broad daylight around 4.30pm last Saturday.

The alien wouldn’t have got far as footage of the theft was quickly shared online by his earthling owners.

And there was another twist early this week – as it was returned covered in a plastic black bag after, yep, you’ve guessed it, someone phoned home.

“We’ve been asking ourselves why anyone would want to take it,” said Frances Stables, daughter of owner, Frankii.

“That’s why I put it on social media because someone would have come home with it – it’s not something you can easily hide and someone would have seen something.

“Then the weirdest thing happened. About 1pm today (Monday) we got a phonecall and it was back here, covered in a black plastic bag.

“It was left around the corner. Whoever did it strayed off camera but I do have a vehicle registration which I’ve given to the police, so watch this space.”

Supporters have joked it was probably the first time that an alien had been abducted, rather than the other way round, with many now calling for the little green man to become the centre’s mascot.

Frances added: “We honestly have no idea why anyone wanted to take it in the first place. It’s a mystery.”

It’s also not the first time an unusual items has been stolen from the mill, as a thief was recently caught stealing a bright red vintage military colonel’s jacket from the centre.