Ref. 29661-35JOHN Cleaves was all packed up and ready to move to Spain when his beloved Staffordshire bull terriers ran off, after an attempted dognap.

He thought he'd have to stay in drizzly England and hunt for his dogs but he is delighted now they have both turned up.

Thieves kicked down Mr Cleaves' garden fence in Shaftesbury Avenue, Park South, on Monday, and the dogs, Burt and Lucy Loo, bolted.

Mr Cleaves, who runs bars in Spain, thought his dream of a warm climate had also gone for the time being because he had vowed not to move without the dogs.

Burt was spotted at New College on Monday and later picked up by the dog warden. But it wasn't until late yesterday that Lucy Loo was found by two good-hearted security guards at Tyco in Dorcan Way.

"Swindon amazes me sometimes with the goodness of its people," said Mr Cleaves. He later gave both security guards £10 to say thank you for their help with Lucy Loo.

Mr Cleaves and his partner Sarah are due to move to Granada in Spain on Sunday and wouldn't have left without the dogs.

Mr Cleaves said: "We've spent more than £1,000 shipping all our stuff out there and we've got three businesses to get up and running, but I would have come back to find them. At least all of my family can move out there and we're back to our full complement," he said.