A dog owner was 'overjoyed' after being reunited with her dogs after they spent eight days trapped in an underground hole.

Katie Fuller, 47 and her daughter Lucy Stammers, 22 from Danbury were worried when their two Jack Russell terriers, Hattie and Toast, went missing.

The pair, were shocked to discover the dogs had got stuck down a hole, just 100 meters from the field at the back of their house.

The dogs were dug out from just a metre underground, eight days after they disappeared.

Katie, who is also mum to 19-year old Oli Stammers said: ""It's brilliant to have them both home.

"It was an awful time without them - as the days went by, I was searching on websites to see if anybody had taken them and tried to sell them.

"But they are elated to be out and to be back with us - it's wonderful.

"They were exhausted at first, and skinnier - but not emaciated. But their energy levels are coming back now."

On the day that Hattie and Toast went missing, Katie said she and her daughter had been out 'mucking out' the three-acre field behind their home.

She said: "Usually we call them and they come trotting up the garden path, and that's that.

"But on that evening, we called them and called them, and nothing.

Katie and Lucy soon launched a search party for their dogs - and the whole village got involved.

Katie said: "Everybody in Danbury was just fantastic. They were sharing posts on Facebook, putting posters up, trying to do their bit.

"We were a big team - we ended up with over 1000 people in the Facebook group helping out and following our search.

"Lucy was going out into our field every night, because she really believed they were out there.

"Meanwhile, I was out doing barbecues every night - not to eat, but in the hope that they might smell it and come home.

The dogs were eventually found after Lucy heard Toast whimpering.

Katie said: "Lucy was out collecting up the wildlife cameras we'd put out, and she heard Toast barking.

"She quickly phoned me and she said "Mum, I think I can hear Toast".

"They were in a tiny hole, just a metre underground - literally 100 metres from the back of our field.

Katie and Lucy quickly phoned the fire brigade, and Lucy's friend from the RSPCA - and rescuers from the fire service spent two hours freeing the dogs.

Lucy has now set up an Instagram page for the dogs, called The Adventures of Hattie and Toast - which has garnered over 300 followers in less than a week.