Flash the microchipped cat back with Knaresborough owners

Unbeknownst to Charlotte and Matt Hunt, their cat Flash hopped into the rear of the vehicle parked next door to their home in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.

The van then travelled north to Washington Services on the A1 in Chester-le-Street, County Durham.

Flash then travelled a further 16 miles north-west and turned up on the doorstep of a house in Chopwell, Tyne and Wear.

Flash was reunited with the Hunt family (Image: Prince Bishop Veterinary Hospital)

His owners, and their children Louis, aged seven, and five-year-old Oliver were distraught at the news of the disappearance of the 16-month-old black and white feline they rescued as a kitten.

Posts were placed in their neighbourhood and on Facebook to appeal for Flash’s whereabouts and a safe return.

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Charlotte and Matt contacted the furniture delivery company, who had been dropping off an item to their neighbour, on the off-chance that he’d been spotted.

They were told there was no sighting of Flash when the driver opened the rear doors as they were parked up at Washington Services.

Flash was delivered safe and sound back to the Hunt family after a health check (Image: Prince Bishop Veterinary Hospital)

The family had almost given up hope of finding him when they received a phone call out-of-the-blue from Prince Bishop Veterinary Hospital in Leadgate, near Consett, to say Flash had been handed in to the practice.

Flash was scanned for a microchip and staff found that his owners had registered him as missing, and Charlotte soon went up to collect him.

The microchip gives a pet their own unique code which is held on a database.

He was covered in ticks and would not have survived longer-term as the parasites carry disease and can cause anaemia.

She said: “I immediately burst out crying when I received the call from the vets and asked if he’d been brought in alive.

“We couldn’t believe he’d travelled so far and it is a lovely feeling to have him back home.

“I’m so relieved he was microchipped and all the details were up to date.

“He was so pleased to be back and slept for days and ate a lot of food.”

Prince Bishop Vets clinical director Gillian Brown said: “We’ve never had a cat handed in that has travelled as far as Flash.

“We’ve known microchipped cats that have been missing from home for years that have been living rough and we are able to reunite them with their owners after they were handed in.”