A pet cat has been reunited with its owners - six years after going missing in a car crash while they were moving house.

Pandora escaped when Billy Bowie was involved in a collision in Perthshire in 2020, while relocating from Essex to Aberdeenshire.

Billy and his wife Mary returned to the scene of the accident to search for their beloved pet - but it wasn't until last month that they learned she had been found.

"There were a lot of very happy tears," Mary said.

The couple had adopted Pandora and sister Ziggy in 2017 as kittens.

They been moving back to their native Scotland from Colchester when the accident happened.

They set off on the drive to Fraserburgh in two vehicles - Billy with Pandora in her cat basket in a van, and Mary in a car with her daughter, grandson and Ziggy.

However, a few hours into the journey, Billy was involved in a serious crash near Errol.

Pandora's cat basket was thrown from their vehicle and she escaped.

"I didn't see the accident as we were a mile or so behind, but obviously it was an enormous shock when we arrived at the scene," Mary recalled.

"The attending paramedics confirmed that - miraculously - Billy wasn't badly hurt.

"When we realised Pandora was missing, we were absolutely distraught. We spent some time looking for her, but because Billy needed to rest and recuperate, we reluctantly had to continue on our journey."

Once the family had settled into their new home - a drive of about two-and-a-half hours from the crash - they resumed the search for Pandora.

"We sent a message to a local Facebook group and there were a few sightings, but no-one was able to catch her," Mary said.

"We also made several trips to Errol, but to no avail."

Fast forward to 2026, and a woman called the Cats Protection charity to report a cat who kept trying to get into her house, so volunteer Fiona Morrison went out to investigate.

"I went to the lady's garden and, to make it easier to scan the cat, I put some food down which she basically inhaled," Fiona said.

"I knew instantly this was a stray rather than a neighbours' cat who had wandered over.

"I scanned for a microchip and was delighted to see that there was one.

"When I entered the details into the chip database, I was relieved to see there was some contact information listed, although slightly surprised that the contact address was in Fraserburgh, quite some distance from Perth."

Mary and her family were celebrating her 62nd birthday on 9 August when Cats Protections called to tell her Pandora had been found.

She described it as the "biggest and best" birthday surprise.

Pandora was taken in by Cats Protection and a few days later the couple travelled to the branch to collect their long-lost cat.

"She immediately responded to her name and she is still very attached to our grandson," Mary said.

"Obviously all that time spent sitting on my daughter's belly when she was pregnant has created a special bond."

She added: "We can't thank Fiona at Cats Protection enough for everything she did to get Pandora home.

"We are also still in touch with the lady who made the initial phone call – we are so grateful to her too.

"I would urge all cat owners to get their cats chipped and to keep their details up to date. You never know, it could lead to your very own miracle."

Volunteer Fiona added: "I have been volunteering for Cats Protection for 26 years.

"But reuniting Pandora with her family has undoubtedly been the highlight for me.

"Everyone was in tears - it was so emotional in the best possible way."