A travelling tabby cat has returned home safe after his latest 160-mile solo romp across England.
The two-year-old's trek from Birmingham to Devon was the sixth time in the last 18 months he had wandered off in mammoth style.
This time Tom spent seven weeks away from home before being sent back to his owners by the RSPCA - thanks to a microchip containing his details.
'Hitches a lift'
Owner Helen Strange said: "When Tom disappeared for the first time we were prepared never to see him again - but thanks to the microchip he keeps on turning up."
"Devon is the furthest he has travelled yet - we have no idea how he got that far, but I can only presume he hitches a lift."
Mrs Strange, her husband Bill and children Tim, 11, and Michael, 8, have designed a map showing Tom's travels.
'Sore paws'
RSPCA south west spokesman Janet Kipling said: "We have no idea how he gets around the country. A couple of times he turned up with sore paws, so he may have walked. But there is no way he has walked to Devon.
"He must be one of those curious cats who wants to see the whole of the country," she said.
So far, Tom has clocked up about 225 miles on trips from his home in
Hollywood, south Birmingham.
-- Anonymous, September 29, 2001