A stolen French bulldog has been reunited with its owner after disappearing in April.

The two-year-old dog, Cherry, was stolen and sold to a local man in Brighton for only £250 – a price much lower than the usual cost for the breed.

When Cherry was not getting on well with the man’s existing dogs, he sought advice from RSPCA Brighton, who checked her microchip and found her owner lived 160 miles away.

Cherry’s owner Vivian Joyce lived in Northampton when her dog disappeared but she had since moved to Wisbech, Cambridgeshire – and was unsure she would ever see her French bulldog again.

“I had almost given up hope of ever seeing her again,” Ms Joyce said.

“My younger son used to ask every day when we were going to see her. I had her as a puppy and she is so loved.”

She added: “When RSPCA Brighton rang to say they had traced the microchip and they had her, I just cried. I’m so grateful to get her back.”

Branch manager at RSPCA Brighton Jenny Eden said: “It was really touching to see how excited Cherry was when her owner turned up, she hadn’t forgotten her at all.”

Ms Eden continued to stress the importance of microchips: “This just goes to show how important those microchips are, as well as keeping them up to date so if anything does happen to your pet, we can get them back to you as quickly as possible.”