Swindon Daleks will go on display after being stolen in 2004

John Chapman has been reunited with the two daleks he created in 1996, which have been revealed at a launch event.

Two working models of Daleks made in 1996 and stolen in 2004 will be put on display again in November.

They were reunited with their creator, former BT engineer and fundraiser John Chapman, in 2021.

Created for a Children In Need event at North Star House in Swindon in 1996, they were used again in 2003 at the town's Designer Outlet.

Stolen in 2004, they were recovered 18 years later when auctioneers started to look into their history.

The Daleks - which took six months to make and appeared at the events with celebrities, including former Doctor Who actor Tom Baker - were reported as stolen to police.

Mr Chapman said he knew he might never see them again: "They were clearly identified as Children in Need fundraising props, and somebody went to a great deal of effort to snatch them."

"They were stolen from their storage location, which upset me enormously."

The two daleks made by John Chapman are gold and grey in the front, pictured at the Children in Need fundraising event in 2003.

Then auctioneers preparing for a "Works of Art" auction in December 2021 looked into the history of a model they were asked to sell and contacted a group of experts in the famous Doctor Who villains.

John Darley from projectdalek.co.uk said it was clear they were replica ones, but also had history: "After a bit of research and a few conversations with other Project Dalek members, we managed to identify the Daleks as being those stolen in 2004."

Mr Chapman recognised his work "instantly" and was reunited with both: "Any Dalek builder will recognise their own work. I can't tell you how thrilled I was. Absolutely stunned."

A combination of auctioneers, Doctor Who enthusiasts and the police helped John Chapman to get his Daleks back.

The organiser of the first events was David Latham, who said they drew a lot of attention from visitors: "They were built especially to patrol a gantry so that when people came into North Star House they could see these menacing Daleks circling, watching them."

The Daleks will get a public outing again on 17 November for "Return to Space Station Pudsey" at Swindon's McArthurGlen Designer Outlet.