Thieves stole a pensioner’s car containing his beloved pet dog as the pensioner visited the grave of his late wife.

But, after an agonising 24 hours, Ron Ward was reunited with his 12-year-old Jack Russell, Tess – and said he felt like he had “won the lottery”. The 75-year-old had been at Streetly Crematorium to lay flowers at his wife Patricia’s grave.

He returned to the car park to find only shards of broken glass where his white Rover Maestro had been.

Police immediately launched a hunt for the culprits before a member of the public called to report the car had been dumped in Erdington – with Tess still in the back.

Mr Ward, a former floor-layer from Great Barr, told the Express & Star of his relief at the return of his “rock.”

He said: “I just feel like I’ve won the lottery.”

Mr Ward regularly visited the grave of his wife, who he was married to for 44 years.

He said: “I’m just so happy that they managed to find Tess. I don’t know what I would have done without her.”

“I have had her 12 years and been alone for nine, so she’s been a godsend to me. I wasn’t so bothered about the car, the main thing was the little dog.

“She would have been distraught without me.”

Mr Ward praised police for their efforts to retrieve the dog.

He said: “You hear a lot of criticism of them, but I’m over the moon with how seriously the police have taken it.

“I don’t think whoever took the car had a clue she was in the back, but they haven’t hurt her in any way.

“I’m just so grateful for all the help.”

PC Mark Allwood, from the Streetly and Pheasey neighbourhood policing team, added officers were still keen to catch the culprits behind the theft at around 2pm on Tuesday.

He said: “This was a particularly callous crime, which deprived an elderly widower of his only means of transport and much beloved pet.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Walsall police on 0845 113 5000.