A cat-loving Bradford Council worker has turned the district's street cleaners into pet detectives.

Jane Ramsden has arranged for hi-tech microchip scanners to be issued to staff in the cleansing department so owners of any identity-tagged cats they find can be informed.

The cleaning team use two hand-held scanners. If they find a chipped pet they can use a database to track down the animal's owner.

Miss Ramsden, a human-resources worker for Bradford Council, came up with the idea after her own cat, Wimpey, went astray.

She approached the authority's street-cleansing team to see if they had found Wimpey. Although they had not, she thought they could use the new technology.

She said: "My first priority was obviously to get Wimpey back. He came to me as a rescue kitten at five weeks old, via an observant bulk-refuse collector picking up some old furniture he was hiding in. I didn't want to learn that Wimpey had been run over and ended up back in the rubbish.

"But the idea came to me that even if I never saw Wimpey again I could obtain some scanners for street cleansing."

Ray Garland, district manager in street cleansing and a newly qualified 'detective', said: "Once we get a report of a dead animal we go and collect it and bring it back to the depot. But, as of yet, none of the ones we have brought back have been chipped.

"Its a good idea. If people have gone to the trouble of having their animals chipped and anything untoward does happen at least they have a definite answer."

The team's two scanners were donated by the manufacturers. Two more were bought with money donated by fellow Council worker Sue Gee - they were donated to Cat Rescue in Allerton. But Wimpey did not need them - he eventually returned home in reasonable health just over three weeks after going missing.

Miss Ramsden, who has 12 cats at her Frizinghall home and recently edited an anthology of cat poetry called Cat Kist, is now urging all cat owners to get their pets electronically tagged.

She said: "With the best will in the world pets go missing. So for extra peace of mind, get your cats and dogs microchipped. Most rescue agencies and vets will automatically scan a lost or hurt pet brought in. It's really inexpensive and it could be the difference between getting your much-loved pet back and never seeing them again."