A musician who had a much cherished piece of equipment stolen from him has finally been reunited with it - almost thirty years later.
Ray 'Taff' Williams has played with or supported countless big name artists over the years, including Frank Zappa, Black Sabbath, David Essex and Bonnie Tyler.
And while supporting Dire Straits in 1979, as part of the Ian Gomm band, he had a custom amplifier made for him by Randall Smith, the company owner of Mesa Boogie, in Petaluma, San Francisco, pulling a few strings with contacts in the industry to skip a long waiting list.
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But the amp disappeared one day while the now 74-year-old had been teaching at Neath Technical College. It had been left in his brand new Daihatsu Fourtrak, which was stolen from outside the college building - despite the car having an expensive alarm system.
"My main concern was not for the car but for five thousand pounds-worth of musical equipment stored in the rear of the vehicle," he said.
"If it had been any old amp I doubt I would have been so bothered, but I had had every conceivable extra put into it.
"I became obsessed with trying to figure out where it may have gone too.
"Throughout the following years, I would often scan the internet with a positive view of finding it. I spotted many from around the same period, but nothing matched the exotic tiger striped hardwood cabinet of mine. It was daunting, and became like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"But while browsing through music platforms in February this year, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted my amplifier for sale. I was actually looking for a guitar of mine that had been stolen in London. I said to my wife Lily, after 28 years I’ve found my amplifier.
"She asked how I could be so sure, and I replied, like a mother would recognise her child".
Further confirmation was that the amp's serial number was the same as that of the amplifier which was made for Ray.
The discovery meant he had to find proof of ownership before contacting police.
But he said: "Although they agreed the evidence I’d given proved I was the rightful owner, they were reluctant to do anything about it because so much time had passed. I asked if crime has a shelf life, which did make them a little more positive in registering my details.
"They contacted Cheshire police, as this is the area where the amplifier was being sold from. Cheshire police refused point blank to follow it up, which made me totally dismayed, and left me with no other option than to make an official complaint against them for ‘neglect of duty’.
"They said because the initial theft was in Wales, then South Wales Police should be dealing with it. South Wales Police said, because the amplifier was now in Cheshire, it should be dealt with by Cheshire police. While this unbelievable childish bickering was going on between two police forces, I was totally dumbfounded by the lack of action from both forces in upholding the law."
Ray decided to take it upon himself to do something to bring his amplifier back home.
The seller - who was not the person responsible for the initial theft, having bought the amp from someone else - was contacted, and Ray provided the evidence of his ownership.
The seller then travelled down to Neath with the amplifier to hand it over to its original owner.
"He refused to take any money for it," said Ray.
"He was a musician himself, and was selling the amp to help pay for the wedding of one of his children.
"He was quite upset by the situation and we had an emotional chat about it.
"He wouldn't take any money from me for the amp so I forced some money on him before he left as a contribution to the wedding.
"I called him later to check he'd got home alright, and his car had blown out and he was waiting for the RAC, so he'd had hell of a day."
Cheshire Police and South Wales Police have been contacted for comment.
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