CARDIFF woman Karen Robb has described the unexpected return of her Lest We Forget flag four days after it was stolen as "incredible".
The Newcastle Herald reported on Tuesday that thieves had on Sunday night stolen the flag, which she had hung every year since 2020 from a broom handle inserted into school crossing poles on Wansbeck Valley Road, near her house.
It was a tribute to her beloved father Barry Spaulding, who served with the navy in the Korean War.
Ms Robb woke on Thursday to the flag laid across her fence.
She later saw on a neighbourhood Facebook group that an early morning walker had found it strewn on the grass outside Cardiff South Public School - the next suburb over - and had brought it to her.
"It feels amazing, the community strength," Ms Robb said.
"There was a lot of community support there about how outrageous [the theft] was and I just feel really blessed that it is back - and I don't need to buy another one, not that that matters - and that someone has taken the time and effort to return it to me, which was amazing.
"I sort of thought 'I'll probably never see it again', for sure. I did comment to a friend if nothing else if it raises the topic of discussion that parents have with their kids about the importance of Anzac Day, that this has happened and how important and respected anything related to Anzac should be, I was just happy if that had happened.
"But to have it returned is even better.
"There's great community spirit, it's beautiful."
Ms Robb said the time and place the flag was discovered were "very random" and wondered if the person who left it at the school mistakenly thought they were returning it to the school near her house.
"It's so random I can't even envisage the journey it's been on, whether there were kids walking around, whether they had it around their shoulders or doing whatever,but then 'Oh we best put it back'.
"I'm glad the community was behind not just my dad but the Anzac respect."
Mr Spaulding passed away on March 28, 2020, and had only started speaking about his service, with other veterans and attending Anzac Day events in the last few years of his life.
