Burnley dog lovers join search in their hundreds to find missing treasured family pet

Have you seen Ben? He went missing last Thursday and his family are desperate to find him.

Ben, who is a 14-year-old Border Collie cross, has not been seen since he was out walking with his owner., Mr Malcolm Ashforth, on Thursday morning.

Ben vanished in the area known as Heald Wood behind the Lower Manor Lane area at around 11am.

Because of his age and the fact he is blind, deaf, and cannot walk long distances the family hoped he had not gone far or wandered down to Pendle Water at the edge of the woods. But a search by family members proved fruitless.

In a bid to track Ben down, Mr Ashforth's daughter-in-law, Michaela Ashforth, posted a picture of Ben on social media. Within hours the post was shared several times and a day later a facebook group devoted to finding Ben was created.

Help Find Ben, which was set up by Jonathan Howarth, now has a staggering 446 members and many people are out around the Burnley area looking for Ben themselves. Several posters featuring pictures of Ben, who is black all over apart from two white front paws and a greying muzzle, has also been put up.

Michaela said: "The response to this has been absolutely overwhelming for the whole family

"We are so grateful and touched by people's kindness and how they have gone out of their way to help us find Ben.

"My phone has not stopped ringing with many of the calls from people I don't even know who want to help."

Volunteers from Busters Animal SOS Team brought trackers dogs to the area in the search for Ben and they have vowed to continue to help until he is found.

Michaela said: "They were fantastic and have given a lot of support and advice to the family which has really helped.

"The tracker dog they brought went to the exact same places that Ben was in the woods also."