A BUCKS Free Press story has helped reunite a cat, which was knocked down by a car, with its owner.

Merlin was found in a bad state on Friday afternoon by Gordon Capon in Queen's Road, opposite The Rye.

It was clear he had hurt his leg so Gordon called Companion Care Vets which is based at Pets at Home in Wycombe Marsh, who arranged for a pet taxi.

Gordon, 44, said: "I looked out of the window and saw a cat sitting in the road.

"I went running out to help him and realised he had hurt his leg.

"I am not a big cat person but he broke my heart a little bit."

Vet Julia Fry made sure he was not in pain and waited to see if the owner would come forward.

BFP photographer, Anita Ross-Marshall, went to the Wycombe Marsh vets on Sunday for an entirely different job and took pity on Merlin.

She took photos and arranged for an article to go online on the BFP website yesterday.

The happy news came this morning that Merlin has been reunited with his owner, Caroline Hall, after someone directed her to the article after she posted an appeal on streetlife.com.

Caroline said: "As soon as I saw that photo I knew it was him. He is 17 and he is a show champion.

"He is a pedigree Oriental."

She said he has a broken foot and they hope to operate on him today.

Caroline added: "I have a 17-year-old daughter who is absolutely delighted he has been found. They are the same age."