BUDDY, the labradoodle, has been hailed a hero after finding a set of false teeth belonging to a pensioner called Mister Barker.

Robin Barker, 69, lost his dentures when they fell out of his pocket while visiting family in Hurworth-on-Tees, near Darlington.

But, in a classic case of lost and hound, they were recovered by two-year-old Buddy while he was out for a morning walk with villager Liz Petty.

Liz said: “We were just crossing the road and I saw him pick something up and it started making a funny clicking noise in his mouth. I decided to investigate and couldn’t believe it when I ended up with a set of dentures in my hand.”

Liz and husband John were dog-sitting Buddy for their daughter Gemma, who had gone for a short break with her husband Jonathan and their children Alexander, eight, and George, six.

“I couldn’t bear the thought of them arriving home to find their dog at the vets with a pair of false teeth trapped in his stomach so I thought I'd better stop him swallowing them,” explained Liz. “Buddy’s an inquisitive dog and is always picking things up – but he’s never found anything quite as unusual as this.”

Mr Barker had been staying at Redworth Hall Hotel during a trip to County Durham with his partner Katherine Dutton but, after visiting Katherine’s son Matthew and his wife Kaye in Hurworth-on-Tees, the top set and palate disappeared.

After searching in vain, he gave up the dentures for good and drove home to Accrington in Lancashire, but the mystery was solved after a social media appeal was spotted by the family back in Hurworth.

The dentures are now being posted back to Lancashire – but not before they've had a good wash.

Mr Barker was unavailable for comment without his dentures, but Katherine said: “I’m ecstatic because he looks terrible without his teeth in. I can’t thank Buddy enough – he’s my hero.”