This bronze statue put up in memory of murdered Sarah Payne was stolen from Burhill County Primary School in Hersham , Surrey . A bronze statue in memory of murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne has been recovered by police after it was stolen from outside her school . The 2ft statue depicting a young girl was taken from Burhill County Primary School , Hersham , Surrey , yesterday . It was given to the school in memory of the former pupil who was murdered in 2000 . It was found by a member of the public this morning after Sarah 's mother , Dr Sara Payne , had appealed for its safe return . The statue was found outside an address in Northfield Road , Cobham , this morning . It is believed that it was left outside the property between 5.15am and 7.30am . Three people are believed to have been involved in the theft . A van was also seen in the area around the time of the offence . Sergeant Marc Nettleingham , of Surrey Police , said : 'The member of the public who found the statue , which is thankfully undamaged , had seen our appeal on Facebook . 'We are continuing to carry out a number of inquiries to identify the offenders responsible for this theft , which is particularly reprehensible given that it was presented to the school in memory of Sarah Payne and the investigation is ongoing . ' Her mother , Sara , said : ' I implore the the public to help me and the police bring my Sarah 's memorial statue back where it belongs ' Eight-year-old Sarah was abducted by paedophile Roy Whiting as she played in a field outside her grandparents ' rural home in West Sussex in 2000 . Her mother , Sara , said yesterday : 'Monetary-wise it 's not worth that much . 'It 's worth far more to the school . 'The residents feel sick and I feel sick about it . ' Eight-year-old Sarah was abducted by paedophile Roy Whiting as she played with older brothers Luke and Lee and younger sister Charlotte in a field outside her grandparents ' rural home in Kingston Gorse , West Sussex in July 2000 . Michael Payne and his then wife Sara made a series of heart-rending appeals for her safe return , but her body was discovered 16 days later in a shallow grave just a few miles away . Whiting was sentenced to life behind bars in January 2001 , and is held at HMP Wakefield , dubbed the Monster Mansion due to the number of high risk sex offenders imprisoned there . It later emerged that Whiting was already on the Sex Offenders Register after abducting and sexually attacking another eight-year-old . Her brutal death remains one of Britain 's highest profile child murders and led to the introduction of Sarah 's Law following a lengthy campaign by her mother . The rule allows concerned parents or grandparents to contact police to find out if a new boyfriend , or a neighbour , who has contact with a child , has a history of child sex offending . Sarah 's father , Michael , died aged 45 last October after a long battle with alcoholism . Her mother was awarded an MBE in 2008 for her campaign work .
Statue presented to Burhill Primary School , Hersham , stolen yesterday . Sarah 's mother , Sara , 'implored ' public to help bring back memorial statue . July 2000 Sarah abducted by paedophile Roy Whiting in Eight-year-old . The brutal death remains one of Britain 's highest profile child murders . Bronze statue was found by a member of the public this morning .