Justin Hawkins has been reunited with his long lost cat who was missing for three years.

The Darkness' Justin Hawkins

The Darkness' Justin Hawkins

The Darkness frontman is overjoyed to finally find the ginger Bengal breed named Cully and says he kept in touch with missing pet databases because he knew in his "heart" she was still alive.

A member of the public handed Cully into Cats Protection's Anglia Coastal Branch in Lowestoft in Suffolk, England, last month and she was matched to her rock star owner.

Speaking about his heartache when he first realised the kitty was lost, Justin said: "Losing Cully was heart-breaking for me and my family but I always knew in my heart that she was still alive - I could just feel it.

"She's always loved the great outdoors. I periodically checked in with the relevant databases and kept my details up-to-date because I knew this day would come."

Luckily, Cully had a microchip in her neck which was scanned to reveal details of the owner and is a method that has helped many lost pets be reunited with their families.

Branch Coordinator Delphine Wood scanned Cully and got in touch with Justin, 41, who then flew from Switzerland - where he was on tour with the band which includes his brother Dan, Frankie Poullain and Rufus Taylor - to be with Cully.

Delphine said: "We get lots of strays and sadly many are not microchipped, so we're always pleased if we find one.

"When the owner's details came up, I thought the name sounded familiar as my boyfriend is a fan.

"I was just relived there was a phone number and it was up-to-date. I contacted Justin and he was so thrilled to hear Cully was alive, fit and well."

The animal welfare worker insisted it is a prime example of why pet owners should get their animals fitted with a microchip.

Delphine told Caters: "It's always really lovely to give someone the news that a long-lost pet has been found, and it was clear how much Cully meant to him.

"This story goes to show why microchipping is so important - had Cully not been microchipped we would never have been able to reunite her, and Justin would never have known what had happened to his much-loved pet."

As a thank you to the cat sanctuary - who also arranged for Cully to be properly vaccinated so that he could travel back to Switzerland with Justin - the 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love' singer purchased two microchip scanner machines for Cats Protection.

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