An elderly east London man has been reunited with his family after getting lost returning to his home and spending almost two days missing.

Father-of-three Douglas Hazell, 75, who has dementia and lung cancer, was last seen in Roman Road in Bow at 9am on November 2 before he lost his bearings trying to return to his home in nearby Grove Road.

Having got onto a wrong bus, he spent nearly 40 hours away from home as his worried family contacted the police, searched nearby streets and put up posters to let people know he was missing.

He was seen travelling on the number 8 bus and is believed to have stayed on night buses.

Douglas, who has two sons and a daughter, was finally found at 12.15am on November 4 at a bus stop outside Bow Church DLR station in Bow Road by an East London Bus Group employee.

His wife Francis Hazell said: “He has gone missing before but only for 10 or 15 minutes.

“This is the worst it’s ever been.

“We’re so relieved to have him back.”

Douglas, who can’t remember what happened to him, was taken to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel for a check-up and was given the all-clear to go home.

His son, Kevin, 39, said: “We’ve had loads of phone calls from people concerned for Douglas and wanting to know how he was.

“We want to thank every one who helped, especially the bus company and the police who always kept us updated.”