Mysterious moggie Nelson delighted owner Marina Smith after he turned up at her workplace following an eight-month absence.

Back home - Marina Smith has been reunited with her lost cat, Nelson Picture: STEVE BAINBRIDGE

Ms Smith gave up on the black and white cat after he went missing in July 2003 fro the home she shares with her partner, in Churchill Road, Bocking.

But last month, Ms Smith, 47, was contacted by a vet to say Nelson had been found just streets away from her workplace, at CJ Townrow, in High Street, Halstead.

She said: "I just don't know how he could get from Bocking to Halstead in eight months."

The former stray was taken in by Ms Smith after she picked him up from the Cats Protection League home in Cobb Fenn Farm, Hedingham.

Published Thursday April 8, 2004