A good samaritan has come to the rescue of a group of grade-two students who had the birds in their classroom stolen by unscrupulous individuals over the weekend.

The barble doves were kept in a cage in the classroom and were a fixture in the class at the Mineral Heights Primary School.

Teacher Pauline Grey, who discovered the prized birds missing, told THE STAR: "It was Sunday when I visited the school and not hearing them coo, that I realised something was wrong."

The students, who are aged between seven and nine, were distressed by the theft of their feathered friends. The action of one man, however, has replaced their sadness with happiness as two birds were delivered to the school yesterday.

The school, with more than 1,500 students, split between two shifts, has reportedly been plagued by petty thieves for some time.

It was Sunday when I visited the school and not hearing them coo, that I realised something was wrong.