A weekly newspaper which published a front page photo of a man who attacked a mosque has been praised after he handed himself into police.

The Surrey Comet published a photo of 19-year-old Henry Hunter in April as part of an appeal to find more suspects who were involved in attacking Kingston Mosque.

But his mother contacted him after seeing him on the front page, which led to him handing himself in on the same day.

Hunter was found guilty of violent disorder by a jury at Kingston Crown Court this month but was acquitted of racially or religiously-aggravated criminal damage.

The mosque was attacked by a mob of hooded men with sticks and bottles in November 2010 and the police released a photo of Hunter after an earlier trial led to three convictions.

He said: “I was at home and my mum phoned me. She was in tears saying my picture was on the front page of the paper. I said I would hand myself in.”

Hunter faces jail when he is sentenced next month.

Detective Sergeant Andrew “Charlie” Morrow, who investigated the attack, said: “I am very pleased at the result from Kingston Crown Court.

“This clearly shows the power of the community, the media and the police in working together and proves there is no safe haven for hate crime in Kingston.”

Rizwan Khaliq, who was inside the mosque during the attack, added: “I am very thankful. The paper was pivotal in getting this person. We are absolutely in awe at the way Kingston has responded.”

A photo of another man also appeared on the Comet’s front page and police still want to speak to him.