Polly went missing on Sunday 31 May from a holiday cottage in the village rented by her owners Margaret and Rick Rickaby from Kirkcowan near Dumfries.

The couple were devastated as they had to return home without her after spending their whole holiday searching for her.

But on Wednesday they got a call from Steve Todd of Front Street who lives next door to the holiday cottage, who told them Polly had been found at a smallholding two miles away, just outside of the village.

Margaret told the Gazette the couple drove through the night and arrived in Grosmont at 10.30am the next day.

Polly was discovered by Louise and Gerrard who own the small holding and had seen her twice once under a water trough and again after she had unfortunately eaten two of their hens.

The couple had seen one of their posters of the polecat which had been put up in shops in the village offering up a £50 reward if anyone found her.

“We are very, very happy to have found her,” said Margaret. “We didn’t think we were going to get her back. We are over the moon.

“I would like to thank the Whitby Gazette and Steve, Louise and Gerrard. We gave them the reward and compensation for the hens.”