A dog has been reunited with his owners more than nine years after going missing from his Essex home.

Kenny, a cross bichon frise, was found wandering alone in Epping Forest by a passer-by. His owners were traced using a microchip.

He was aged two when he went missing and the dog’s owners presumed that he had been stolen.

Joshua Donnelly, Kenny’s owner’s son, said: “I had long since given up hope of ever seeing Kenny again.”

He added: “I was overjoyed to be reunited after such a long time.”

It is not known where Kenny spent his missing years.