'Cabbage is home!' Veteran journalist's dog returned after pet van theft

A BBC reporter's beloved dog has been found after she went missing when a dog walker's van was stolen in west London.

Rory Cellan-Jones' elderly rescue collie Cabbage and five other dogs were inside a van that was stolen in East Acton at 10:20am on Friday.

Thousands of people shared the former BBC technology correspondent's tweet appealing for the public to help find his pet of 12 years.

By Friday evening all six dogs were reunited with their owners after five were found "wandering around Park Royal together" and the sixth, Bafi the Cockerpoo, was found later in Putney.

Confirming that all the dogs were home safe, Mr Cellan-Jones tweeted, "We - and Cabbage - would just like to thank you all for your kind messages and support today."

The journalist, who has been battling both cancer and Parkinson's disease, regularly shares pictures of Cabbage with his 192,000 followers.

Dog thefts across the capital have spiked in recent years, with 317 reported thefts in London last year, compared with only 180 in 2016.

In August the government announced plans for dognappers and other pet thieves to face tougher sentences but were accused of retreating on the plan earlier this month.