A Hayes cat-lover is delighted after having her Persian kitten returned by a member of the public.
Jean Pope, 60, who lives with her husband in Hayes, was worried her pet was taken from her driveway after she went missing on September 29.
Mrs Pope contacted getwestlondon and national animal charities in a bid to find Sophie, her 11-month-old Persian kitten.
She said: “She's like a child to us.
“It would mean the world to me to have her back, she's a beloved kitten we had to replace my 15-year-old Persian cat that died tragically last year.
“She's beautiful and such a lovely temperament. She's so friendly so someone might have called her and she went up to them on our driveway.”
Mrs Pope and her husband are now "over the moon" to have Sophie back home, safe and sound, thanks to a man they now call a "local hero".
She said: "On the evening of October 12, we were given the best news of all this year.
"I received a telephone call from a young man, James Verity, now our local hero, also from the Hayes area, to say that he'd seen a kitten that looked like Sophie."
Sophie was spotted behind a gate in Hayes - not far from Mrs Pope's home.
She continued: "I rushed up there, with a good friend and my husband, and to our joy, we discovered it was indeed our missing Persian kitten Sophie!
"She had lost some weight over the last two weeks, but not too much, and her coat was clean, so it looked like that someone may have looked after her and fed her for a while.
"She was very nervous and miaowing after her ordeal, but has thankfully recovered now. It's so great to have her home, my husband and I were over the moon!"
