Mum offers £500 reward to find daughter's lost toy

Meredith lost Cat Dancer during a stay at Celtic Manor in February

A mother is offering a £500 reward in the hope of reuniting her daughter with her lost soft toy.

Alexandra's daughter Meredith, who is autistic, lost the pink cat during a stay at Celtic Manor Resort in Newport in February.

Cat Dancer, which Meredith named when she was young, has been her "constant companion" since she was a baby, leaving the family desperate to find it.

"I hoped by now she might be moving on, but she's not – she's crying every night," Alexandra said.

Alexandra, from Cardiff, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that many parents will recognise the fact children get attached to things, but those with neurodivergent children "will understand the attachment and extra meaning our children have for their toys".

"It's been devastating for her," she said, adding that the toy has "a very distinguishable mark".

Meredith gave Cat Dancer its name because "the legs and arms would swing when she moved it around, as if it was dancing with her".

"You know what kids are like, they say what they see."

She added a replacement will not do, the toy "has to be the original" for Meredith.

The toy was lost during the February half term, when the family stayed at Celtic Manor, and it was not until arriving home that they realised it was missing.

"The trail has gone cold, we don't know if it fell out the suitcase and Meredith doesn't remember if she picked Cat Dancer up after I put it inside the bag."

The mother-of-two said Celtic Manor have been "really supportive" in trying to track down the soft toy and the family has returned to the resort three times in the hope of finding it.

She said the family has a spare in case another child has found the toy and become attached to it.

"We are really happy to give to that child, because we don't want another child being upset either," she said.