A DOG feared stolen from a back garden in Bolton has been returned.

85-year-old Betty Dilworth’s Pekingese went missing from her back garden in the new Church Road area of Smithills yesterday afternoon, July 21.

The police were called following the suspected theft as it was though there was no way it could have escaped on its own.

However, it’s now emerged that the dog has been returned to the garden – suggesting that whoever took the seven-year-old dog latterly thought better of their actions.