A dog that is scared of fireworks is thought to have swum all the way from Sheppey to Seasalter to get away from the loud bangs.

Bam, a nine-year-old Japanese Akita, fled his home in Leysdown on Friday night after being spooked by noisy fireworks above his house.

The following day, he was found roaming the water's edge on Seasalter beach, near Whitstable, wet and covered in mud.

His owner Rosie O'Shea said Bam is now back home receiving well-deserved TLC.

Speaking about the ordeal, Rosie said: "Bam is petrified of the big bangs of the fireworks. He's an outside dog, loves being outside, but normally we'd bring him in and have him close by when fireworks are being let off.

"I'd gone to the shop and come back and a big firework went off right over our house. We heard the fence go; Bam must've jumped it.

"My son Jack ran out after him but it was too late; he was gone – he must've had a proper panic and ran away as fast as he could."

Rosie, 62, said she and her family and friends searched high and low for Bam until about 4.30am on Saturday morning, but there was no sign of him.

Rosie's daughter, Kim, then decided to share Bam's photo and details on Facebook and, hours later, a woman responded to say he had been seen near Whitstable.

"I said there's no way it could be him," Rosie said. "But then they sent me a photo and I thought 'oh my god, how did he get to Whitstable?'

"In the photo, he looked so sad, walking up and down the beach, with mud all over him."

Rosie was alerted to Bam's discovery at about 3pm yesterday and she and Jack were reunited with him at about 5pm.

"When he saw my son, his whole body language changed straight away," she said. "He was so happy to see him and it was just amazing."

Now back home, Rosie said Bam had eaten a big dinner, drank lots of water and has slept quite a bit.

When asked whether she believed he had swum to Seasalter, Rosie said: "I don't know how else he would have got there.

"We've been going through all the different options; did someone take him and dump him there? But you could see the mud and dirt on his fur, and you could smell the water on him."

She added: "We already knew he was amazing, but if he did swim, he's even more amazing than we thought. I can't believe it.

"He's certainly had an adventure and I don't think he'll want to do that again."

Rosie said the support from the community on Sheppey, in Whitstable and further afield had been "wonderful".

She added: "We just can't thank everyone enough for helping us get Bam home. They are amazing; everyone's comments are just overwhelming. I am over the moon."

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