A pair of goats that went missing from a football club last week were returned home safe yesterday.

The animals, which were donated to Dandy Town this month to help maintain the St John’s Road field and serve as pets, vanished last Tuesday.

Club members carried out a search of the nearby area and spread the message about their disappearance on social media.

Hopes for their safe return, however, faded as the days passed.

The club got a call yesterday from a member of the public who said the four-legged mowing machines were being looked after at a farm.

Members later found out that a government animal warden had taken them to the farm after they were discovered in nearby Mills Creek.

A club member, who asked not to be named, said: “I was worried someone had come by and stolen them.

“I was so excited to see them back because I thought something had happened to them.”

The member added the goats were “happy to be back home” despite looking thinner than when they left.

A spokesman for Dandy Town said the club now planned to name the goats and encouraged the public to make suggestions.