A family boat, which a man with Alzheimer's was using as his last port of call to go sailing, was stolen from the Shotley peninsula last week.
The boat was found missing at the beach at Harkstead by the man's wife, Lorna, on Saturday.
Lorna decided to post on social media to try to get help from her local community around Harkstead, explaining the importance of the boat for her husband.
She said "My husband has Alzheimer's and the dinghy was his last opportunity to enjoy the water as he cannot sail a bigger boat now".
Quickly messages of support flooded in and people in the community began a search for the missing boat.
The dinghy was eventually found by two local walkers, Ellie Everett and Luke McCauley.
The boat was found badly damaged, and the seats were stolen a short while later, but locals helped to empty the dingy of water and drag it back up the hill.
Lorna commended her local community on social media, saying: "I would like to thank the wonderful people living in and around the peninsula for all their lovely support, kindness, suggestions of help."
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