A family is celebrating the return of their pet cat – nearly four years after it went missing and about 14 miles away from where it was last seen.

Rebecca Hollely, 14, of Livingstone Link in Stevenage, was “devastated” when her cat Tim went missing from her family’s former home in Edgware, north London in late 2010.

Tim was discovered living as a stray in Hemel Hempstead last month and taken to a vets – where his microchip implant was found to contain his owner’s contact details. He was returned to Rebecca last week in good health.

She said: “I was so happy when I found out Tim had come home. We thought he would eventually be found because of his microchip but really started to lose hope after a while. It was really sad when he went missing but it’s brilliant to see him back with us and happy.”

Dad Ray said: “It just goes to show you how important it can be to get your pets chipped – I was convinced he was gone. I remember it was a snowy night when he went missing, even though we had tried to stop him going out, and I really thought he wasn’t coming back.

“Rebecca was devastated when he went missing but was absolutely over the moon when we got him home. I couldn’t believe he had survived after all that time but, if anything, he had put on weight. He’s a fantastic cat and we’re sure it won’t take too long before he’s settled in again.”