A COUPLE from North Bradley returned from a holiday in America to find their pet cat had been missing from a cattery for nearly a fortnight.

Julie Richards, 28, and her fianc Chris Jones, 29, returned from their family holiday in California to find a letter from the Steeple Ashton Cattery detailing how their pet cat Penny had escaped from her cage.

Penny and the couple's other cat, Pip spent the duration of their holiday at the cattery, but half way through Penny made her escape.

The couple have been putting up posters and leaflets in a bid to find the lost pet.

Mr Jones said: "By the time we got back she had already been missing for 12 days."

Terry and Yvette McColgan took over the Steeple Ashton Cattery just under a year ago.

Mr McColgan said: "We are equally devastated about what has happened.

"The cats were locked up as usual and in the morning when my wife came to feed them Penny was missing."

He said they had called in a representative from the Feline Advisory Bureau as soon as the alarm was raised.

Penny is a dark tortoiseshell rescue cat, and has been fitted with a microchip. Please call (01225) 769717 with any information.