A cat who was “battered” by last week’s flash floods and found with facial injuries by firefighters has been reunited with his owners.

Brian Dawes went missing last week, when violent thunderstorms hit south Bucks, with owners Anne Dawes and Amy May, from Beaconsfield, terrified for his safety when they realised he was missing.

Anne said: “He hates thunderstorms – they scare him. We went out to look for him but we couldn’t find him.

“In the morning I looked for him and he wasn’t where he would usually be.”

She said she decided to check Facebook, where she saw that Brian, who was named after her father, had been taken to Straid Vets, in Station Road, after crews at Beaconsfield Fire Station found him suffering from facial damage.

She added: “We were so relieved. I rushed up to get him. We were then told we could take him to his usual vets [Crossroads Veterinary Centre, High Wycombe].

“A surgeon there then told me there was no hope for him and he would have to be put to sleep. That really upset us.”

The pair decided to seek a second opinion, with vet Sally Scott telling them they would keep Brian in overnight to see how he recovered.

Anne added: “We were told we could take him home the following evening. We are so glad we got a second opinion, because if it wasn’t for Sally, I would have had to put him to sleep.

“It was very upsetting because he was named after my father who died 10 years ago.”

Anne told the Bucks Free Press Brian was making a full recovery.

She said: “He is loving life and recovering really well. He’s purring and wants to go out and play but he can’t yet.

“I am so grateful to everyone who helped – the firefighters, vets, everyone. Social media is amazing because we wouldn’t have found him without it.”

The thunderstorms wreaked chaos across south Bucks, with heavy downpours leaving many roads, including the M40, flooded.

Emergency services worked tirelessly to cope with calls for help from worried residents, with firefighters being called out 40 times in two hours.

Bucks Search and Rescue had to help recover three cars that were left “floating” in High Wycombe overnight, and fallen trees caused busy main roads to be blocked off.

The storms also appeared to flood High Wycombe railway station and caused debris to fall from the ceiling.