Boy George has agreed to return an icon of Christ to the Church Of Cyprus.

The former Culture Club star bought the item from an art dealer in London in 1985, but did not know where it had come from.

The singer said he was “happy” to return the icon “back to its original home”.

"I have always been a friend of Cyprus and have looked after the icon for 26 years," he told BBC News.

Boy George - real name George O’Down - handed the icon over at the St Anagyre church in North London.

It is eventually due to be returned to the Church of St Charalambos, where it was stolen from after the 1974 Turkish invasion.

(by Jason Gregory)