A puppy stolen from a Gidea Park home while two women were inside has been reunited with its owners - thanks to the Romford Recorder.

Crooks made off with the tan coloured Shar Pei/Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross called Bruno from a Compton Avenue home last month.

After being contacted by the police about the incident the Recorder ran a police appeal for information.

Eagle-eyed reader Karen Marks contacted the Recorder after spotting a Shar Pei puppy being advertised as having been found, on the Hornchurch Animal Rescue and Rehoming Facebook page.

Donna Evans, from the charity said: “He was found in a street in Dagenham, the warden had had him for a little while and we were looking at giving him to a new foster home.

“We don’t know what happened to him, it could have been that he ran out of the house where he was stolen, or he could have been passed on to someone else.”

Last week, following a phone call from the Recorder, mother and daughter Betty and Lauren Power went to see if he was in fact their dog.

Betty said: “We got him back - it was him - he was a bit nervous at first and he’s lost a bit of weight but he’s fine now.

“He’s following me and my daughter around all the time, but he seems to be okay.

“I never thought we would get him back.”

Donna added that it is vital to report missing dogs to the council in the first place, as a central register of found dogs is available to local authorities.

She also advises micro-chipping and making sure the information on the microchip is kept up-to-date.

In this case, Donna added: “It’s a happy ending all round.”