Former Scotland rugby player reunited with stolen alien statue after Evening News appeal

A former Scotland rugby player is breathing a sigh of relief after being reunited with a statue of an alien that was stolen from a garage outside his Edinburgh home.

Norrie Rowan, who played for Scotland in the 1980s, discovered his lock-up garage door in Lanark Road wide open early on Friday morning after a group of rugby players staying in the house next door raised the alarm.

Among the items taken was the one metre tall statue of Paul, the alien character that features in the science fiction comedy movie of the same name starring Simon Pegg.

Norrie Rowan appealed for the return of his alien statue on Monday and is offering a £100 reward.

Norrie contacted the Evening News on Monday in a bid to track down the statue, which he bought at auction for about £1,000, and by Tuesday afternoon it had been found beside a hedge outside his local Asda store at Chesser.

Norrie said: "It sounds like someone had thrown it over the hedge at Asda and staff found it at about 2pm.

“I think someone has just had it when the garage door malfunctioned and carried it off.”

Norrie collected the statue of Paul from the store on Tuesday and left his contact details with the manageress, as he plans to hand over a £100 reward to the person who found it. He says he will double the pay if staff want it to go to a charity of their choosing.

Ex Scotland player Norrie Rowan.

The former prop forward regularly displays the alien at the front of his garage for the entertainment of passing walkers, cyclists and bus passengers across the road.

It is believed the golden-green coloured statue was taken from his garage, near the Water of Leith Conservation Trust and Visitor Centre, at some point between 9pm on Thursday and 4am on Friday.

Norrie says he was speaking to a friend on the west coast about the incident who told him the film Paul was actually on the TV the evening before.

The 2011 movie focuses on two science fiction geeks who meet an alien called Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) with a sarcastic manner and an appetite for alcohol and cigarettes. Together, they help the alien escape from FBI agents who are pursuing him so he can return to his home world.

The former international rugby player also has a big Oor Wullie statue in his garage and collects lots of other bits and bobs which he describes himself as “junk."

The theft was also reported to police on Friday.