Thomas Winspear was spotted walking along Speeding Drive, in the King Oswy area of Hartlepool, around 3.15am on Saturday by a man heading for the nearby allotments.

Thomas had been staying at his aunt Gemma Keenan's house in Howden Road - 600 yards away from where he was found - after a family barbecue at his own home in Merriman Green.

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Thomas was allowed to go with his aunty and cousin, Bobby, after the get-together, and had tea and watched a DVD before being tucked up in bed at around 11pm.

Gemma went to bed not long afterwards. But, while she was sleeping, Thomas, who turns three in January next year, managed to walk downstairs, turn the key in the door and walk out of the back gate along with his aunty's Jack Russell, Conan.

After being alerted to the situation by a passer-by, police officers spent six hours searching the area carrying out door-to-door inquiries, while the force helicopter hovered overhead in an attempt to find out where Thomas had escaped from.

Gemma, who has jokingly vowed never to babysit again, was only alerted to the fact her nephew had gone missing when police officers knocked at her door holding a picture of him.

Gemma, 25, said: "The police asked if I was missing a little boy and I said he was upstairs in bed.

"But when I went upstairs he wasn't there. My heart skipped a beat. I was hysterical."

Thomas was taken to the University Hospital of North Tees for medical checks and was later reunited with his mum, Laura Keenan.

Laura, 23, a full-time mum-of-three, has added extra bolts on the back gate of her home just in case her son tries to make a similar getaway in the future.

She said: "I'm just so glad to have him back.

"I'm still in shock. I can't believe it's happened. It's not sunk in yet how serious it actually was.

"I'm trying not to think about it."

Grandma, Fiona Keenan, 47, of nearby Lazenby Road, said the whole family are indebted to the man who found Thomas.

She said: "I cannot thank him enough. At that time of night absolutely anybody could have got hold of him."

Inspector Mick Brown, of Cleveland Police, said: "Officers who were due to end a night shift remained on duty to conduct door-to-door inquiries in an effort to find someone who knew of a child in the area who matched the boy's description.

"The police helicopter assisted in the search which lasted for around six hours."