There were tears of joy when Jack, the dog stolen from the cab of a parked lorry, was reunited with his owners.

Jack, a 16-year-old bichon friese, was sitting in the truck in Lewes on Monday last week when thieves jumped in and drove away.

Owners Eileen Bryant and her husband David, who run a building-painting company in Hove, hardly slept and searched the streets for Jack.

The good news came on Friday from a vet in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

An elderly woman found Jack on waste ground in the town on Monday evening and handed him in.

The vet searched web sites and found Jack's owner through a missing pet bureau.

Jack, who suffers with arthritis and is partly blind and deaf, was given back to a thrilled Mrs Bryant.

She said: "I'm never letting him out of my sight again. He came out of his cage and when he saw me he wagged his tail. I gave him a kiss and cried.

"He is sitting around here now as if nothing happened. It has been quite an adventure for him."

Her husband's lorry is still missing. Mrs Bryant said: "It is a material thing, which is insured. Jack is priceless."

Mrs Bryant said friends, family and even strangers helped in the hunt for Jack by searching nearby streets and delivering leaflets.

She said: "Everyone has been incredible and I want to thank them all."

A reward is still on offer for Juliette, a silver chinchilla cat, stolen from outside the couple's home on the B2116 Ditchling Road at Offham, Lewes.