A dog has been reunited with its owners four years after it was stolen from their home. It was spotted for sale on Facebook.

Cotton, a Staffordshire bull terrier, was taken from Joanna Martin’s home in Bristol on October 25, 2008.

Joanna, 31, was still checking that shops kept up posters of her missing dog as recently as last year.

Then a friend spotted a dog for sale through social networking site Facebook and showed it to Joanna, who immediately recognised it as being Cotton

She arranged to view the dog, and contacted the police to inform them of her intentions.

Officers met her at the property and went in, arresting a woman in her early 20s for handling stolen goods.

And now her daughters Kira, 12, and Katie, 6, (pictured) are making up for lost time with their pet.