A couple who were planning the trip of a lifetime to climb the Himalayas in Nepal have put their plans on hold in order to rescue a dog.

Kindhearted Kirsche and Nick Elms decided to shell out £3,000 bringing a badly-treated mongrel they found in Thailand back home to Sussex.

They met the two-year-old dog, now called PS after the villas where they were staying, during an extended holiday in South-East Asia.

Kirsche and Nick, who have been married for three years, left their home in East Preston, near Worthing, in January on a back-packing trip to Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia in January.

Kirsche, 29, a nurse, and Nick, 29, an electrician, eventually ended up on the Thai island of Koh Samui.

Kirsche said: "I had been to the island about ten years ago and was reluctant to go because I'd been really distressed about the dogs there.

"The locals would poison them and they would be dying in front of you."

When they arrived on the island they discovered a German couple had set up a dog rescue centre there so Kirsche decided to do some voluntary work there during their stay.

One night, the couple heard a dog being savaged and found a female dog with terrible wounds.

Kirsche used her medical knowledge to treat some of the injuries but the dog was attacked again by packs of roaming dogs.

The rescue centre, where Kirsche and her husband built a swimming pool for the dogs, eventually agreed to take the injured animal in.

They decided to bring her a home and began the difficult task of having her shipped to Britain.

Kirsche said: "We thought it would cost about £800. It was such an involved process and we had to correspond in Thai and go through all the import and export licensing process."

They then booked PS a passage home, had her checked by a vet, vaccinated and spayed and bought her a £175 transport cage and a £350 flight with British Airways.

PS was flown off the island and into Bangkok and then on to London arriving in Britain on May 27. She was met by animal officers who took her into quarantine in Hassocks where she will remain until November 26.

Kirsche said: "My family thought we were absolutely mad but they have visited her in the kennels and they've fallen in love with her too."

The bill for PS has already reached £3,000 and is set to increase when the veterinary bill arrives.

Kirsche added: "We just knew we couldn't leave her there and come back so the money isn't important."