A homesick sheepdog which had been working on a farm near Cockermouth hit the headlines this week when it appears to have made the 240-mile journey back to its birthplace in Wales.

Four-year-old Pero disappeared from the Cumbrian farm earlier this month, only to reappear on the doorstep of Alan and Shan James's farm near Aberystwyth a fortnight later.

His previous owners have no idea how he found his way back. They now plan to keep Pero. 

Mrs James said: "The farmer in Cockermouth was looking for a dog that could round sheep and follow a quad bike, and we thought Pero would be ideal for the job. 

"We told the farmer to take him away and see if he'd be willing to work for him on his farm up north. And so Pero left us at the beginning of March." 

But it seems Pero did not take to Cumbria life, and while out working on the farm one day, he shot off. 

The James family were told Pero had disappeared and could not believe it when he turned up on their doorstep.

Lorton farmer Andrew Nicholson said: "Everyone's wondering which farm he was on but no one seems to know.

"It's a marvellous tale, the dog must be related to a pigeon! The foxhounds round here know how to find their way home from quite a distance but not sheepdogs. They'll make it home if you've left them locally but not that sort of distance."