A widow devastated when an animal sanctuary 'rescued' and sold on her missing pet dog was celebrating today after she was finally reunited with the beloved pooch.

Liz Hiorns, 72, searched for days after 11-year-old Jack Russell Penny ran away from the family farm near Warwick.

But Liz was stunned when she discovered a dog warden found Penny a week later and handed her in to an animal rescue centre which in turn sold her to new owners for £80.

Liz begged the animal rescue centre to tell her who had bought Penny - but they refused, claiming it was against data protection laws.

Penny was only returned to Liz after she threatened Denamere Animal Rescue Centre with legal action, it emerged.

Liz's family applied to the High Court in Birmingham to force the rescue centre to reveal the identity of jack russel Penny's new owners - who had renamed her 'Angel'.

But the new owners of 'Angel' decided to return her to Liz before the case was heard.

Grandmother-of-six Liz said: 'I'm absolutely delighted, thrilled to have her home.

'The last month has been extremely stressful but I am just so relieved it is all over. I will certainly be keeping a close eye on Penny in future.

'This should never have happened and I am very angry with the local council who were too quick to palm her off onto someone else.' Stratford District Council, which is responsible for what happens to stray dogs when they are picked up by the warden, apologised for the cock-up.

A spokesman said: 'This is the first time such an incident has happened and the district council regrets this and will use its best endeavours to ensure this does not happen again.

'Sadly, the district council picks up a number of dogs weekly and scans the dogs routinely for identification in the form of a microchip or any other distinguishing marks.

'This all helps with the process of reuniting the dog back with its rightful owner.

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