A runaway dog has the power of social media to thank after an online appeal reunited him with his owner.

Bear, a Jack Russell cross, managed to sneak out of his home in Folkestone on Wednesday morning as his owner Chris Pittard was getting ready to go to work.

The little dog wandered to a nearby primary school before being taken to vets in the town.

He was then picked up by Shepway District Council's dog warden and the council then posted a photo on Facebook and Twitter appealing to find Bear's owner.

The post reached nearly 13,000 people including one of Chris's friends.

News of Bear's trip to Mundella Primary School, where he was first spotted, and his visit to Abbeywell Vets soon reached Chris who says he was "amazed" when a friend phoned him up to tell him.

Chris said: "I was amazed when he rang me asking me if I’d lost Bear. I said ‘how do you know’ and then he told me about the Facebook posting.

"I have only just started using Facebook but it really shows the power of social media."

Although Bear is microchipped he used to be owned by Chris's daughter and the details had not been updated.

His collar had also been taken off when he was given a bath.

Now Chris has urged all dog owners to make sure their dogs are chipped and details updated.

"It was a set of circumstances that just went against us," added Chris.

"I would like to thank the person who took him to Abbeywell, the 320 people who shared the council’s Facebook post and the council for keeping him safe until I could collect him."

From April 6 the law will change stating that all dogs over eight weeks must be microchipped.

Cllr Stuart Peall, SDC's cabinet member for the environment, said: "A microchip contains details so that an owner can be traced if a dog should go missing."

The council will be holding a free microchipping service on Sunday, March 20 at the Civic Centre in Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone between 10am and 2pm.

"I would encourage owners of dogs who are not yet micro-chipped to come along," Cllr Peall added.