Cubbington parish councillor David Saul was presented with the animal by four concerned youngsters, who had found it wandering the streets.

He promised to help - but discovered after dozens of calls that there is now no out-of-hours dog warden service in Warwick district.

The gap follows a change in the law in April which relieved police of emergency kennelling duties.

Warwick District Council - which runs a 9am to 5pm service during the week - has not stepped into the breach.

Coun Saul said: "The children were quite distressed and I thought I must be able to help.

"But the police said they didn't deal with that anymore - and it seems nobody else does.

"I tried the RSPCA, the Dogs Trust, the whole lot, but I couldn't get hold of anyone. I was on the phone for hours.

"There is a gap in officialdom here and I want to warn owners that if their dog is lost nothing will be done about it."

Finally, the Heathcote Veterinary Centre agreed to help and found the pet had been 'chipped', allowing it to be reunited with its owners,
from Weston-under-Wetherley.

In a separate incident at the weekend, Hunningham residents spent a day trying to trace an animal which went missing shortly after its owner's 80th birthday on Saturday.

They followed the trail of a well-meaning member of the public who had tried to take Barney the dog to police and been turned away.

It was only when both parties contacted the Dogs Trust at Honiley that a reunion was possible.

Villager Hazel Taylor said: "I think it's disgraceful there is no cover."

A Dogs Trust spokesman stressed the organisation could only take animals
referred by the district council, and said gaps in cover had caused "problems".

A district council spokesman said: "The law changed in April removing the duty on the police to provide an out of hours service for stray dogs.

"It did not say that someone had to take over, or that the police could not choose to continue.

"We provide a dog warden service during office hours but simply do not have the funding to pick up the gaps left by the police."

* To report a missing or found dog during the week call 456734.