Mystery solved over 64 ornamental elephants in English town

"Thankfully it has now been confirmed the motivation was sheer kindness and the ornaments were left on doorsteps as a touching gesture by an elderly man in honour of his late wife who had collected them," Halfpenny tweeted. The unexpected arrival of the ceramic elephants had prompted residents to weigh in with their own theories and tall tales.

The mystery over a herd of ornamental ceramic elephants that appeared on the doorsteps of some residents living on a street in a town in northwestern England has been solved, police said on Tuesday. The 64-strong collection turned up on Vincent Street in St Helens overnight between Thursday and Friday, leaving residents and police dumbfounded. Merseyside Police said the unexpected arrival had "caused concern" and asked for the mysterious owner to come forward.

Now, an elderly man has come forward and told police that he had tried to share his late wife's trinkets to mark the first anniversary of her death, the BBC reported. "We can confirm the original owner of 64 ornamental elephants left on doorsteps in St Helens has attended St Helens Police Station to collect the items," Merseyside Police said in a statement.

Community Sergeant Andy Halfpenny, of Merseyside Police, said: "I would like to thank those people who made us aware of the presence of the elephants out of genuine uncertainty about why they were there. "Thankfully it has now been confirmed the motivation was sheer kindness and the ornaments were left on doorsteps as a touching gesture by an elderly man in honour of his late wife who had collected them," Halfpenny tweeted.

The unexpected arrival of the ceramic elephants had prompted residents to weigh in with their own theories and tall tales. Brandon Delahunty speculated on Facebook that it could have been "a way for thieves to test if someone is home".

Despina Mooney tweeted: "In some cultures such as Brazilian and Chinese, elephants bring good luck, good health and are guardians of the home." After learning that there was nothing sinster about the ceramic elephants, social media users wrote that something nice should be done for the elderly man who left them in front of several homes. "Poor man, I hope the residents can possibly do something for him in return," one social media user wrote.

Another commented that he knew there would not be anything sinster about it. Anyway, the mystery is certainly one the people of Vincent Street will never forget, the report added.