A dog owner who had given up hope of ever being reunited with her lost pet is now spoiling her rotten after the "brilliant" people of Sutton rallied together.

Jo Newcomb, 51, of Bernard Road in Wallington, was out walking Lottie, a collie German-shepherd rescue dog, when a loud bang panicked her pooch and she ran off.

That was on Saturday, July 4. She would not see Lottie again until Thursday, July 9.

How the pet was found was an "amazing" example of a community coming together.

Miss Newcomb said: "We were walking in Beddington Park on Saturday, July 4, about lunchtime.

"She heard a bang and bolted. She doesn't like bangs."

Normally if Lottie runs off, she waits by the park gate, said her owner, "but she didn't and she didn't come home and she knows the way home."

Miss Newcomb would spend the rest of the day frantically searching the park, only calling a halt at 11pm.

She said: "I came back at 5am the next morning, at that point I was putting posters up around the park and I was doing that for the next four days.

"Next thing I know, everybody in the community came together. It was brilliant, amazing.

"They were organising searches of parks.

"People we didn't know were coming forward with suggestions of where to look.

"I was shocked at how much support there was."

It was then she was contacted by a Haley Williams who sent her a message on Facebook asking if they had searched the Thames Water site near Viridor in Beddington.

Haley called the staff there who carried out a search only to find nothing.

However, the next day an employee, Bobby Brown, heard a dog barking and, aware there was an on-going campaign to find missing Lottie, organised a further search.

She said: "They went to investigate, and its difficult to do as there are no pathways done there. They found Lottie in the undergrowth in the channel.

"She couldn't get out, she was caught in the weeds.

"At 7am I found out she was alive and well and I went to pick her up.

"She looked fine if a bit dirty having been in the water.

"I took her to the vets and they found nothing wrong."

She added: "The night before she was found was when I had given up. That's when I thought I wouldn't see her again.

"I thought that either somebody has had her and will look after her or she is injured and hiding.

"If it hadn't have been for everyone I wouldn't have got her back but special thanks to Haley Williams, Bobby Brown, 'Tonka', the Bullett family next door and Masie."