A CAT owner has been reunited with her missing pet after it was found eight miles away from her home - at the hospital where she works.

The Persian cat, known as Smokey, was found by a nurse at Earl's House Hospital, on the outskirts of Durham City on Friday night, during a storm.

She alerted the local branch of the Cats Protection League, which came to pick up the stray.

Smokey, who was thin and tattered, was taken for an emergency check-up at the Dunelm Veterinary Group and was groomed under anaesthetic.

The following day, Sandra Walsh, a nurse from Earl's House called the charity to say she had heard about the cat and thought it could have been Smokey, which went missing from her home in Stanley six weeks earlier.

Smokey spent a few days recovering in the care of the Cats Protection League and the pair were reunited yesterday.

A spokeswoman for the animal charity said: "The owner still has no idea how the cat got from Stanley to Durham. He was sunning himself on the patio six weeks ago and hadn't been seen since.

"She is adamant she would have seen him if he had got into the car with her and all we can think of is that he travelled in the engine compartment."

Anyone interested in rehoming a cat or kitten being cared for by the Cats Protect-ion League should call 0191-386 8211.