THE PET detectives swooped into action when Beano the cat went missing from his Keighley home.

The nationally-renowned rescue squad raced to Utley after being summoned on the cat phone to bring the beloved three-year-old feline safely home with their distinctive uniforms and emergency vehicle, scoured the neighbourhood for the beloved three-year-old feline.

With their distinctive vehicle and uniforms the crack officers became a familiar sight in the Keelham Lane neighbourhood as they knocked on doors, searched gardens and sought anonymous tip offs about Beano's whereabouts.

The professional team were contacted by Beano's owner Julie Bunyan after he went missing

Animal Search UK claims to be Europe's only uniformed missing pet search team, led by former police officer Tom Watkins who has more than 20 years of investigation experience.

Mr Watkins's team can conduct door-to-door enquiries or provide owners with help with posters, leaflets, advice and expert support.

They operate a 24-hour Freephone number for members of the public to call with anonymous information or straightforward sightings of missing pets.

Mr Watkins said: "Beano is distinctive because he doesn’t have a tail. We are not giving up until this family is reunited. He is very much-loved by Julie and we are determined to leave no stone unturned in the hunt for her boy.”

Animal Search UK launched in 1999, and now has as many as 2000 visitors a day to its free website, scanning the lost and found databases in the hope of being reunited with their missing pets.

In addition to the free service, pet owners can also pay for an in-depth investigation by the team.

Mr Watkins said: “Most missing pets are found within a mile of home – the challenge faced by owners is making sure that as many people as possible know that their pet has gone missing and encouraging them to be vigilant in keeping an eye out for them.

“Unfortunately, work and family commitments often mean that owners don’t have as much time as they’d like to devote scouring the area looking for their missing pet, and this is one of the ways in which Animal Search UK can help."

Mr Watkins said that visiting neighbours throughout the community could be daunting for owners, so his team had insurance and the expertise to enter gardens, garages and outbuildings after gaining permission, to conduct a thorough search.

He added: "Our professional, uniformed specialist search teams can usually be at any location in the UK within 48 hours.

“We’ll make sure that we have as much background as possible before we commence our investigation. We’ll check details about their normal routine, and their usual patterns of movement in the area.”

Anyone with news, information or who has a sighting of Beano is asked to call the Animal Search UK free confidential helpline on 0800 4320 340 and quote case ref: 375 511.

Alternatively they can search on the website animalsearchuk.co.uk for pet ref: ALP375 511. Information can be emailed to info@animalsearchuk.co.uk.