A happy family have welcomed back their two beloved black cats which both mysteriously went missing from home within weeks of each other.

Singer Coralie Relf, of Afghan Road, St Peters, believes publicity in the KM Group's Thanet Extra led to the return of mum and son Dotty and Dave.

Dotty had been missing for weeks and Coralie, daughter Amara and nephew Coby-jay were distraught when Dave disappeared too.

Within days of a story appearing in the Extra, voicing Coralie’s fears that the pets had been stolen, both cats walked back through the door on the same day.

It was the perfect birthday present for Amara and Coby-jay, who were 13 and five respectively on February 25 and 26.

Exactly where the pair has been is a mystery, but their return after an extensive search and publicity is an extra cause for celebration.

Both cats were well, although home-loving Dave appeared to be quite thin and at first stayed close to Coralie, office manager for Gates and Green estate agents.

She said: “He came bounding in, crying ‘meow, meow, meow.’ Dotty is just as normal, a bit overweight if anything. We are so pleased to see them again, we thought something horrible had happened. I am convinced it was the story in the Thanet Extra that led to their return.”