A teacher wants to thank a kind community which rallied round to help after her beloved dog ran towards the A47 and went missing for four days.

Peggy, a seven-year-old spaniel cross beagle, became 'spooked' on Thursday morning while she was on a walk along Watercress Lane, Mattishall. She was found in Middlemarch Road, Toftwood, Dereham, on Sunday morning.

Her owner Sarah Atkinson, 40, from Mill Street, Mattishall, who works at the village primary school, said she feels 'overjoyed' to have her pet back and wanted to thank villagers and the police who rallied round.

Mrs Atkinson said: 'As a family we have been devastated. Peggy is my shadow and she has got me through some very tough times. She was brought by my husband when we were going through the adoption process and she has been a great deal of support to me.

'She follows me everywhere and it has been a very difficult time being separated from her and not knowing where she was.'

Peggy, who was not injured when she was found, ran towards the A47 'as fast as a whippet' and ended up in Dereham town centre but could not be caught because she was so timid.

'It's a miracle she was not hit by a car or caused an accident,' Mrs Atkinson added.

As soon as Peggy went missing Mattishall villagers sent out messages on Facebook about her disappearance and 100 posters and 300 flyers were made up by the charity DogLost.co.uk.

The flyers were given out on Saturday by Mrs Atkinson and her husband Philip in Dereham town centre and the green area behind Toftwood Village Hall.

Peggy was found by Iris Tuttle, from Toftwood, who called Mr and Mrs Atkinson after spotting a poster.

Mrs Atkinson said: 'If it wasn't for the support of people on Facebook I don't think we would have found her. The community helped to get her back. It is very rare to have that kind of support from strangers.'

She added: 'Since Peggy has returned home she has done nothing but sleep all day. She doesn't want to go outside at the moment and I guess she won't need a long walk for a very long time.'

Peggy was bought by Mr Atkinson in 2006 when she was six weeks old.