A WOMAN out walking her dogs turned animal rescuer after a friendly ferret ran up her leg.

Audrey Reynolds, 69, was walking her two dogs by the River Wear, at Chester-le-Street, when the animal came over to say hello.

"I was walking along as the dogs messed about in the river, when I saw this ferret," she said.

"He ran towards me and clung to my trouser leg. I knew he was in trouble if my dogs spotted him, so I picked him up.

"I was scared that he might bite, but he was so tame that he just hung on and licked me all over my face, as if he was asking me for help."

She wrapped the cream-coloured creature, believed to be a lost pet, in her jacket and took him back to her home in nearby Great Lumley.

RSPCA officers collected the animal and are holding him at an animal sanctuary, in the hope of finding his owner.

"He is a lovely creature and I am sure somebody must be missing him," said Mrs Reynolds.

Anyone who is missing a ferret and believes the animal may belong to them should contact the RSPCA on 08705 555999 and quote the serial number 2271-31-12-02.