Baldrick, like his famous namesake in the Blackadder television series, looked dishevelled after his wanderings, but his owner Liz Wright from Jane's Lane, Burgess Hill, was overjoyed to see him.

On March 9 the Jack Russell, Chihuahua cross, weighing just 8 lbs and standing nine inches tall, disappeared from his World's End home on a great trek south.

Liz explained: "My husband Paul and I were going away to Canada so we left him with a friend for a trial run but he slipped his harness.

"We wandered across the fields looking for him and put up flyers but we couldn't find him. While we were away in Canada people kept phoning my daughter Jo, saying they had seen him but nobody could catch him."

Baldrick, aged 6, came within sight of a major tourist attraction, the Jack and Jill Windmills on the Downs at Clayton, before his homing instinct kicked in and he headed back towards World's End, but his sense of direction went awry and he ended up on Burgess Hill Golf Course off Cuckfield Road.

As soon as Liz and Paul returned from Canada they received further sightings and tracked Baldrick down on March 24.

For the full story, see the April 2 edition of the Mid Sussex Times.