ONE of two dogs that went missing for the second time in a year while being walked in the Lake District has been found down a hole in Kentmere.

Patterdale terriers Molly and Jess, both aged four, ran off while being exercised in woods at Kentmere on Friday, February 6.

Eleven days later, Molly has been found after days of searching by owners Yvonne and Michael Sunderland, from Heysham.

Last February, the pair were missing for almost four weeks after being let off for a run in Witherslack. They were finally located by two Forestry Commission workers following an appeal in The Westmorland Gazette.

Yvonne said she and her husband had been left distressed by their pets' second disappearance.

Although Molly was found on Tuesday after days of searching, Yvonne says Jess remained missing and hopes that she would be found alive were fading.

"Last year, they were missing for three weeks and six days before they were found," said Yvonne. "At the time we thought they may have gone down a hole and got stuck because they were quite fat."

"Thanks to a story in The Westmorland Gazette, two Forestry Commission workers realised they were our missing pets and they were safely returned to us, although they were underweight with cuts and scrapes and Molly had a wound to her belly," she said.

Molly was found this time after Yvonne's niece Jessica Rowes joined the search of Kentmere with her own dog on Tuesday.

"She kept going back to one spot and smelling," said Yvonne. "When we checked we could hear a bark and the next thing we discovered Molly in a hole but there was no sign of Jess."

Yvonne said her husband would continue to search for Jess and is urging anyone walking around Kentmere to watch out for the missing terrier.

She described Jess as 'wary' of people and urged anyone who sees her to make contact with her on 07878-941517 rather than attempt to catch her.

Jess is microchipped and her tail is half-docked.