THE power of social media has reunited a musician with his stolen car and the £8,000 of equipment that was inside.

Comedian, pianist and voiceover artist Matt Black, 46 – known as the Piano Man – realised his white Ford Focus estate had been taken at 10am on Thursday, January 30.

It was crammed full of expensive musical equipment, including a Yamaha CP33 electric stage piano, two Bose L1 Model 1 amplifiers, four microphones, stands and leads.

The well-known Parkstone performer said: “My car keys were hanging on a hook in the hallway of my house. The police think the thieves might have retrieved the keys through the letterbox using a long hooking device and then driven off with the car and all my music equipment.”

Details of the crime spread via social media and the car was discovered nearby. Matt thinks the publicity made the car “too hot to handle”.

“It was a couple of streets away from where I live. I think they were leaving it hoping things would cool down before they could do anything with it,” he said.

“I have been overwhelmed by the support of people on Facebook, as the message saying my car and equipment was stolen has been shared more than 200 times.”

The car was parked outside his home off Churchill Road in Parkstone .

Matt said it looked as though all the equipment was still in the car, although he would not be able to get into it until a locksmith arrived at a police compound today.

Matt’s musical comedy act races through numerous genres from classical to rock and roll. He has appeared with stars including The Supremes, Boy George, Mud and Richard Digance.

He is still hoping someone will be able to help police find the thieves.

A spokesperson from Dorset Police said: “The incident was reported to us at 9.59am on January 30. A vehicle was stolen but there was no forced entry. Keys were hung on a hook on a door.”