A mum has praised the "overwhelming" support of the public after her dead son's coat went missing.

Sharon Marie Jones lost the coat at Marks & Spencer in Aberystwyth over the weekend during a shopping trip with her husband and children.

The coat means a lot to Sharon because it originally belonged to her son Ned, who tragically died in a car crash three years ago when he was just five years old, as reported by WalesOnline .

It still has his name on the label but has since been worn by his brother Tomi, now 12, and now five-year-old Cai - and is an important way for the siblings to keep a connection with Ned.

The sentimental jacket had been draped over her arm during the shopping trip on Saturday but soon disappeared.

Speaking to WalesOnline about the incident, Sharon said: "I realised it had slipped off my arm before we left the store. We asked the staff but no body had handed it in.

"We thought we would leave it a few hours and then come back but still no one had handed it in. The shop said they would ring me if anyone did hand it in.

"When I got home I thought I would put it on Twitter. I don't have Facebook but my husband does so I put it on there."

The social media post read: "Today I lost my son's jacket in @marksandspencer Aberystwyth in the menswear section.

"I can't bear the thought of someone else wearing this jacket. Cai loves it because it has Ned's name in it - he was only 18 months old when Ned died.

"Ned loved the jacket because it also has Tomi's name in it. It is so much more than just a jacket to me."

Sharon was soon overwhelmed with messages of support, including from TV presenter Carol Vorderman , from Prestatyn .

And after almost 200 responses on Twitter from people trying to help, the family were reunited with the beloved coat.

Children's author Sharon explained: "We got a Facebook message from someone saying it had been handed in at the café.

"They sent me a picture of it and it looked a different colour on the phone. It didn't look like that jacket."

Fortunately, despite not appearing to be the jacket in the photo, it was in fact Ned's coat after all.

Expressing her gratitude, Sharon tweeted: "The coat is back where it belongs!

"Thank you to the person who handed it in at the cafe. Thank you for all the support and understanding on here."

Speaking after the coat was returned, she said she was "overwhelmed by the support" and further explained why it means so much to her family.

She said: "It must be difficult to understand exactly how much it meant to me to have the jacket returned, and yet kindness and compassion has been shown.

"Because Ned used to wear this jacket, to me, there is still a part of him with it and having Cai wear it is the only way I have of giving Cai a hug from his big brother."

She added that Cai had "happily wore the jacket to school" the following day and stated that, "during the dark days [she'll] remember how you all took my family into your hearts."

You can have your say on this story in the comments section below.