FIVE weeks after pet dog Emily disappeared during a family walk, her owner Susie Green had given her up for dead.

Searches of the area around their home in Norton, North Yorkshire proved fruitless and she prepared her two sons for the worst.

But, in an amazing display of resilience, Emily returned home on Friday, after spending the whole five weeks trapped in a badger sett. Vets believe she survived her ordeal by eating wet soil.

The Jack Russell disappeared while Ms Green was out for a walk with her sons, Harry, 12 and Arthur, 11 and their other terrier, Rosie.

"We were walking along the edge of a stubble field when she suddenly disappeared," said Ms Green. "We searched and searched but found no trace of her."

Neighbours and friends helped look for Emily for the next few days, but no trace of her could be found. It was only when the family began to make inquiries of wildlife experts that they discovered that the whole hill where the dog went missing is a maze of underground tunnels and setts dating back 100 years.

Ms Green said: "We called and called her but there was no response. She may have heard us but was trapped in the set and couldn't get out because the tunnels apparently go back 20ft to 30ft."

She said vets believe Emily was trapped in a set for the full five weeks because she had lost so much weight by the time she returned.

"She was a shadow of her former self when she did come home," said Ms Green. "She was only half her original size but fortunately she still had sufficient strength to ease herself out of the set back to the surface."

It is thought that the dog survived by eating wet soil because when she arrived back, that was what she was passing through her system.

Ms Green said: "The vets couldn't believe she had survived for so long, and while she's still thin, especially at the back end, we are feeding her a little and often to build up her strength and muscles.

"It's a wonderful and amazing end to what we thought was a tragic story."