A BUILDER has been hailed a hero after going on a three hour round trip to return a stolen dog to its owner.

Adam Spalding spotted a fluffy Lhasa Apso called Milo padding around Cressing after popping out for a late afternoon drive.

The 21-year-old said: “Being a dog person I stopped and wondered what was wrong.

“I picked it up and looked at its collar, but it didn’t have a tag. I knocked on some doors, but everybody said he wasn’t theirs.

“I took him into the vets and when they contacted the owner she said she would get him straight away.”

But after hearing that Milo had been stolen more than two weeks ago, the kind bricklayer drove from his home in Ashes Road, Braintree, to the Cambridgeshire town of Soham.

Owner Charlotte Tiffin said Mr Spalding was a “hero” for returning her beloved pet last Tuesday. 

She said: “You watch the news and a lot of people aren’t very nice.

“When the vets rang it was 6.50pm and I live quite a way away so Adam saved the day really.

“For somebody to do that, who doesn’t even know you, and not expect anything in return is just fantastic.”

Courtney Christmas, of Black Notley Veterinary Surgery in Witham Road, said Milo’s story showed the importance of microchipping pets.

She said: “We scanned him for a microchip and luckily he had one. If he hadn’t been chipped then we would never have known.”