False alarm on theft of Melbourne boy's wheelchair

Police have put the brakes on an 11-year-old's stolen wheelchair - it wasn't stolen after all.

It was thought the boy, who spent almost four weeks in hospital in a coma, had his wheelchair stolen from his home in Melbourne's north on Monday.

The wheelchair went missing just days after he was discharged from hospital, where he had spent 25 days in a critical care unit recovering from a serious lung infection.

The family reported it stolen to police, but shortly after going public, the mystery was solved.

"We have now been notified that the wheelchair has been recovered after it was mistakenly picked up by a courier and that no offence has been committed," a police statement said.