Banburyshire litter-picker thrills bereaved pet owner who launched balloons in her dog's memory

Harvey Fox with the note he found attached to some balloons tangled in bushes in Bodicote

Harvey Fox found the balloons with their label when out for a walk on Saturday.

At first, he thought the balloons were litter tangled around a bush and picked the rubbish up to put in a bin, but then noticed the hand-written message.

His mum Ginny Fox said: "Originally, he was upset that someone had dumped such a pile of rubbish in the countryside but after untangling it all he realised that it was actually three deflated balloons, one of which was clearly a dog-bone.

Demi Hughes and Jessie, whose memorial balloons were found in Bodicote after a 100-mile flight from Castle Bromwich

"Then Harvey noticed there was a card tied to the string of the balloons. On one side there was a picture of a dog and on the other there was a message saying the balloons were a tribute to a dog named Jessie and that if anyone were to find the balloons they should text the number on the card which was signed by a woman simply named ‘Demi’."

When he got back to his home in Molyneux Drive, Harvey texted the pet owner to tell her he had found her tribute and sympathised with her for her loss. He sent a photo of himself with her message.

Immediately he received a reply from Demi Hughes in Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham.

Harvey discovered that Ms Hughes and her her family had scattered the ashes of their dog, Jessie, on their local green on Christmas Day. and at the same time had released the balloons.

Harvey Fox with the balloons that had drifted 100 miles to Bodicote

"She was ecstatic that Harvey had not only found the balloons but that he had taken the time to write her such a heartfelt message. She asked if she could share this wonderful story on her Facebook page and Harvey was only too happy to let her share her happiness. Her post received a huge amount of attention," said his Mum.

Ms Hughes had feared the bad weather, wind, rain and snow, might have erased her contact details and she did not think she would not get a response. But after a two week journey, the balloons had fallen to the ground in Bodicote.

Ms Hughes said in a message to Mr Fox: "This fills my heart with so much joy. It was only the other day I said to my Mum and Dad we should have put the picture in a plastic wallet in case the rain smudged my number.

"I'm so happy and thankful you. We scattered Jessie's ashes on the green on Christmas Day. Where you are is about 100 miles from us. Thank you so so much. You are a very kind man."