A family are celebrating the return of their beloved puppy after it went missing from their garden.

The six-month-old Dogue de Bordeaux, or French mastiff, is the breed which featured in the 1989 film Turner And Hooch.

It went missing while exercising in Andy and Wendy Maskell's garden in Pulborough on Monday and was presumed stolen.

Mr Maskell spotted the family pet on a railway line near their home yesterday morning.

He said: "We have no idea how he got there. He would have had to have gone through two other properties to get on to the line. The children were delighted when they got home from school."

Murphy's disappearance had been the second blow to the family.

Their Christmas was blighted when Mrs Maskell broke her ankle getting out of her car while holding her daughter, six-month-old Mia.

Mr Maskell, a railway engineer, is working from home to look after the couple's four children Ryan, 11, Megan, seven, Harvey, six, and Mia, while Wendy recovers.

The puppy, which cost the family £600 in the summer, had been in the enclosed garden with the family's other dog, a three-year-old Italian Spinone.

Mr Maskell said: "We thought he must have been stolen because the garden is secure and he's quite a big dog.

"We had been out looking for him and put some posters up.

"Ryan had really missed him because he does a lot of the dog walking. Megan was crying her eyes out too."

The family had offered a reward for Murphy's return and informed police, vets and dog wardens about his disappearance.

Eight unwanted dogs have found new homes following an appeal in The Argus.

The 12 dogs of Christmas were a dozen homeless dogs living at the Dogs Trust, formerly the National Canine Defence League, in Shoreham.

The Argus highlighted the dogs' plight at Christmas and appealed for new owners to come forward.

Sideshow Bob, Cody, Dexy, Estefan, Mr Sharp, Badger, Wham and Bart have all been booked or re-homed but Olly, Rodney, Harold and Terence are still looking for homes.

For more information on adopting a dog, call 01273 452576.