A Hampshire man is a happy camper after being reunited with his missing dog following a near three-day search at a beauty spot near Petersfield.

Alberto Donadello camped out in Queen Elizabeth Country Park after his beloved Cooper bolted during a walk around the woodland site.

But this tail has a happy ending, as the pair were reunited after the Belgian Shepherd-cross sniffed out a wild camper taking part in the search.

A dog walker was taking Cooper on a jaunt through QECP when the pet, who was not on a lead, was spooked by a group of cyclists coming towards him.

He ran off into the woods and despite the best efforts of the walker, Alberto and QECP rangers, remained elusive for the rest of the day.

“It was horrendous – the walker tried to run after him but Cooper panicked and went off to god knows where,” said Alberto, who lives in Portsmouth and had never visited QECP before the incident over the Bank Holiday weekend.

“I walked for about six hours up and down and around the park but I didn’t feel any pain until later.

“In the meantime the dog walker managed to get in touch with the QECP rangers and straight away they shared a picture among themselves, but there was nothing at all.

Mr Donadello added: “He is a big dog but he’s also very friendly and playful and like a child.

“But what if he was attacked or if we had lost him forever? He could have been anywhere.”

A rescue group was formed with Mr Donadello being assured that nine out of ten dogs go back the car or where they bolted. But a split and search proved fruitless, while Alberto and his friend, Mel, also struck a dead end aside from a sighting by the QECP bus stop on the A3 and another by the Clanfield exit.

Mr Donadello said: “The first night was awful and it was freezing.

“I got in the car, put the hazard lights on and drove slowly along the A3 at 20mph to the junction, constantly calling Cooper. We even went all the way down to Waterlooville.”

At one stage 30 people were looking for Cooper while a drone was also deployed. Mel scoured nearby villages while Alberto wondered what he would tell his other half, who was abroad, if Cooper wasn’t found.

Alberto eventually went home while a Connor, a friend of the original dog walker, slept under the stars near the spot where the pet went missing. Just after 1am, Alberto got the phone call he had been waiting for.

Connor woke up to find Cooper circling around his camping bed, and wasted no time in attaching the missing mutt to a lead.

“It was amazing and we’re both so happy,” said Alberto, who has since fitted Cooper with a GPS tracker.

“He only lost a little bit of weight so he must have found some food and water. He was checked by the vet and was absolutely fine.”