A missing ginger Tom cat has been reunited with its owners after being missing since last September.

The Hamilton family feared they would never see Charlie again after he went missing just weeks before they moved house.

The Scottish SPCA was able to trace them through the cat's microchip despite the change in address after being alerted by a concerned farmer saying he found a stray cat looking weather worn.

Now Charlie is back enjoying his old routine with his family, including 13-year-old Molly who was "over the moon" to have her cat back.

Animal rescue officer Sheena MacTaggart was delighted she could help Charlie return home and reiterated the importance of micro-chipping your pets.

She said: "Charlie was very friendly but a bit wet and mucky. We were worried he'd gotten himself lost and wanted to get him back home as quickly as possible.

"We took the address details from the microchip and visited the property only to discover Charlie's owners had moved on.

"Luckily, the new home owners had a forwarding address so I was able to visit the Hamilton family in their new property over six miles away in Colyton, Aryshire.

"Charlie is happily settled in back home now but it shows how crucial it is to keep microchip details updated at all times as this could have had a very different ending."

Charlie's owner, Helen Hamilton said: "Charlie went missing around six months ago and we genuinely thought we weren't going to see him again.

"I'd hate to think we might not have been able to get Charlie back just because of a change of address.

"We will definitely be keeping all our animal's microchips up to date in the future."

Anyone concerned about the welfare of an animal should contact the Scottish SPCA animal helpline on .