A BUSINESSMAN who offered a £10,000 reward to catch the thieves who stole his daughter's puppy said he was elated after the dog was found.

Mike Sweeney's five-year-old daughter Melissa had been left devastated after the rottweiler was taken from their home in Gladstone Close, Blackburn.

Yesterday he made a front page appeal in the Evening Telegraph, detailing a reward of £2,000 for the dog's return and a further £8,000 if the thieves were convicted.

Mr Sweeney said: "Apparently someone had bought it in a pub."