A LOCAL community has been praised for its encouragement and support while a woman ‘never gave up hope’ and searched for her beloved missing cat for nearly two weeks.

Helen Lloyd, 66, is ‘overjoyed’ that her cat Max is now at home, but it had been an incredibly sad and stressful 10 days since he went missing, resulting in her not eating or sleeping and losing half a stone in weight.

She was taking Max to a vet on September 19 in Bridport and he somehow managed to escape his cage.

He ran into a large field covered in bushes and undergrowth, and even with the help of firefighters he could not be caught. Helen was left ‘broken’ when she lost Max.

Max has been her loyal companion for 11 years and she was ‘heartbroken’ to lose him.

She rescued him after he was physically abused and had ‘always been there’ for her after she lost her husband to Motor Neurone Disease. However, Max is scared of humans and will only go to Helen.

Helen searched throughout the day and night for 10 days, posted hundreds of leaflets through neighbouring homes and on notice boards, as well as posting information and pictures on social media, resulting in hundreds of shares.

Many people got in touch with her, sending videos and sightings of Max, posting words of encouragement that he would turn up.

After posting leaflets through doors on Monday, Helen had a message from a man in St Andrews Road saying his wife had seen Max in their garden and taken a video. Helen knew it was him. She set up a trap close to their garden on Tuesday.

She said: “I was walking back to my car and I heard him. I thought to myself, ‘don’t be silly, you’re tired’ but then I heard him again. He got louder and louder and his head poked out from under a shed. I called him and he was terrified, he wouldn’t come near me. He has lost a lot of weight.”

Helen finally managed to get Max into the car and home.

She added: “I got home and just broke down. We have had each other for 11 years and I never gave up on him, even after nightmares where I though he was dead on the road or that I would find him dead.

“It is the kindness of people. The thing that kept me going was the following on social media.

“Everyone was rooting for me when I was low - I was so encouraged.”