TWO kind-hearted Bromsgrove firms have stepped in to help worried pet owners after reading about their plight in your No.1 community newspaper, the Bromsgrove Advertiser/Messenger.

Last week we featured a plea by Ginny Campion, of Shepherds Walk, calling on Bromsgrove District Council to buy an extra microchip scanner which could be stationed at the council depot, in Aston Fields, for out of hours use.

She said it would allow the owners of dead dogs and cats which are collected by the authority to be identified and give their owners peace of mind about what had happened to them.

This week, Clent Hills Veterinary Group, in Stourbridge Road, and Bayer UK Ltd, in Weston Hall Road, Stoke Prior, have stepped in and offered to provide a scanner for use by the council's out-of-hours team.

Clent practice manager Pam Hampson told the Advertiser/Messenger: "It is always distressing to know your animal has been killed but it is still better to know the facts at once rather than being left in limbo.

"Some years ago my own dog was knocked down and after two weeks of fruitless searching someone let me know the council lorry had picked him up at the roadside.

"Some people never know, and that can be quite distressing for any pet owner."

The council has one scanner but it can only be used during office hours and it advises people to use identity tags on their animals.

But Mrs Hampson says that although collars and tags are useful they can be lost or removed if animals have been stolen.

She added: "Micro-chipping is the modern method of tracing animals.

Mr Hampson said: "We recommend that all pets be chipped."