A schoolgirl saved Christmas for a devastated family by helping rescue their beloved cat from the snow.

Carla Dahl saw Ben, a black and white Tom, shivering in her family’s Brighton garden in bad weather and begged her parents to help her save him.

The feline had disappeared three months earlier from his home in Middlesex 70 miles away.

Ben's owner, Julia Romp, had already planned to cancel Christmas because her autistic 13-year-old son George could not handle any more disruption after being devastated by the beloved pet's disappearance.

She put up missing posters, rang animal charities, produced 4,000 leaflets to promote her hunt, and even received a warning from Hounslow Council to scale down her campaign.

But Ben was spotted by Carla in her garden in Lyminster Avenue, Hollingbury.

The Dahl family called Pet Rescue who scanned Ben’s microchip and identified Ms Romp as his owner.

Ms Romp drove 140 miles through snow storms to take him home.