A HAMPSHIRE schoolboy has been reunited with his pet chicken – thanks to the Daily Echo.

Nine-year-old Tom Cheater was devastated when Dingo was apparently stolen from the back garden of his home at Priestlands Close in Netley Marsh.

As reported by the Daily Echo over the weekend, he even offered his savings of £39.42 as a reward for the return of the three-year-old hen.

Now Tom and his beloved bird are back together after enduring several days apart.

His mother, Nicola Cheater, said: “A woman found Dingo in a nearby field used for car boot sales and took him home.

“Her son saw the Daily Echo story about Dingo disappearing.

“If it hadn’t been for that article we’d never have got her back.

Going strong “The woman who found Dingo kept her in her kitchen, which wasn’t the best place for a chicken.

“She needed a lot of grit and a lot of water but she was OK.”

Nicola described the emotional moment Tom was told that his pet had been found.

She said: “He was at his friend’s house when he was given the good news.

“He had the biggest grin on his face and fell over on the trampoline in shock.”

A food hopper was also taken when Dingo went missing last week.

The family had been worried about what could have happened to Dingo, as the possibility of being put in with other chickens can lead to shock.

But the plucky hen is going strong and after a bit of TLC is expected to be back to her friendly self.

Nicola described the bird as being “more like a cat” because she enjoyed human company and also likes being picked up.

Police officers were investigating the disappearance of the bird.

A spokesman said that if anyone saw anything suspicious around the area on Sunday, September 7, they can contact Hampshire police on 101, quoting the crime reference number 44140326971.