A MISSING West Sussex dementia sufferer was found by chance by police in Abingdon – after a journey that had already taken him to Nottingham.

The 73-year-old was pulled over for driving erratically in Abingdon by officers at 3am.

It was only when they found a laminated piece of paper with his name and address on that they began to piece together he was a man missing from West Sussex since the previous day.

During their search of the car outside Abingdon police station, Sgt Matt Chubb, Pc Nadia Naeem and Pc Louise Russell also found petrol receipts for a fuelling station in Nottingham, revealing his trip had taken in the East Midlands as well.

They quickly contacted the pensioner’s wife, who confirmed her husband had dementia and had wandered off from a funeral.

Being the early hours of Sunday, August 9, police began searching for a place for him to stay the night and contacted Abingdon Court Care Home manager Sherrie Hume for help.

Mrs Hume, 48, of Elm Road, Faringdon, said: “It was obvious the man was suffering from dementia as he couldn’t answer my questions directly.

“He was also an insulin-dependent diabetic and I wanted to know when he had last had his insulin.

“He was an absolutely charming man but he said he was tired, so I took him to a room, showed him around, and left him to sleep for a few hours while we decided how we were going to get him home.”

The pensioner’s wife was unable to pick up her husband from Abingdon so Sgt Chubb and Pc Russell drove him to Heathrow Airport to meet officers from Sussex Police to take him the rest of the way home to his wife.

Insp Ian Money, of Thames Valley Police, said: “Fortunately officers noticed this man and pulled him over before he was involved in a collision, injuring himself or anyone else.

“I would like to thank Mrs Hume who, out of the goodness of her heart, got up in the early hours of the morning to open up the only room she had, so that this gentleman could have somewhere comfortable to stay, while officers made enquiries as to how to get him back home safely.

“Due to her kind generosity an incident which could have taken up many police resources has enabled us to both ensure this man’s welfare and reunite him with his family and also get our officers back out policing the area as soon as possible.”