A weekly newspaper reunited a terminally-ill woman with her lost pet dog after featuring its disappearance on the front page.

Farm manager Simon Ashworth and wife Melanie, who is suffering from cancer, returned from a long weekend at Disneyland Paris to find their miniature poodle Shitzu cross Etty had gone missing.

The distraught family contacted the Gainsborough Target, which ran a front page appeal for sightings of the distinctive 16-week-old pet.

And the move paid off when the reader who had found the puppy saw the story and got in touch.

Happy ending: Simon and Melanie Ashworth with Etty the puppy, son Jacob and a copy of this week's Target

Said Simon:  “The paper came out on Friday and in the early afternoon I was in the Tesco filling station where Melanie used to work.

“My mobile rang and a woman said she thought she’d got our dog. She said she’d seen the Target and had found a puppy in the street a couple of days earlier.

“I just went straight round there, collected Etty and gave them some money and rushed home to Mel.

“When I went in the house I held up the newspaper and showed Mel the front page. Then I dropped it and there was Etty in my other hand.”

Mrs Ashworth, 34, fought off breast cancer four years ago – but it has returned in a virulent form and spread throughout her body.

Etty had been left in the care of Mrs Ashworth’s father Mick Harrod, who feared that the pet had been stolen from outside the house where he was doing building work.

Managing editor Nick Purkiss said:  “We were all delighted that the Target played a key role in reuniting Melanie and Etty.

“It shows that local newspapers still have a unique role to play in the communities we serve and reach an audience in a way no other media can.”