WHEN the charitable Lowe family donated their sofa to St Luke’s Hospice, they never thought it would end in catastrophe.

As dedicated supporters of the hospice, Pauline and Bill Lowe, of York Avenue, Corringham, regularly give items to the charity to sell. But they didn’t realise their latest donation included their priceless cat Crockett.

The stowaway cat climbed into the sofa last Monday and was transported miles from home to the hospice’s shop in Clarence Road, Grays, on Tuesday.

Another family then bought the sofa and he was whisked off to their home elsewhere in Grays during the five-day adventure.

The mischievous moggy was only discovered when the shocked new owners sat down on Friday and heard meowing.

They then spotted claws coming through the material which moved away when touched.

Ripping open the sofa they discovered Crockett had lodged himself into its back and desperately tried to coax him free.

Meanwhile, heartbroken owners Mr and Mrs Lowe had been out searching for their beloved ten-year-old cat since Monday.

Mrs Lowe said: “We were devastated when he went missing, he is a lovely cat.

“Our other cat Tubbs was missing him too.

“We can’t believe how he must have tucked himself into the sofa during the short time the bottom was removed and remained silent for so long.

“The whole family are delighted to have Crockett back.”

The family believe Crockett climbed into the sofa when it was being taken apart during the removal process.

Hospice shop manager Jenny Munro reunited the family with their pet on Friday.

She said: “I couldn’t believe what I was told when a customer phoned to say they had discovered a cat was inside.

Echo: Adventure: The family are glad to have Crockett back

“We looked back on our records and telephoned Mrs Lowe, she was as surprised and delighted as we were. The customers who had bought the sofa had cats themselves and was very understanding.

“Everyone is happy with the outcome and we have all been saying how amazing the chain of events was and what a very lucky cat Crockett was as had the sofa been disposed of in other ways Crockett may not have been found.”

Thankfully Crockett came to no harm and his adventure has had a purrfect ending.

Echo: Purr-fect ending: Bill Lowe with Crockett