A COUPLE with links to Craven who pulled up roots, moved to Bulgaria, and founded a dog rescue charity have recorded their adventure in a book.

Emma and Anthony Smith moved to the Dryanovo region of Bulgaria in 2013 and set up Street Hearts GB shortly afterwards, helping street dogs to recover from abandonment, neglect, and danger.

Actress Kate Lamb of Call the Midwife fame is among those who have worked with the charity.

The Dryanovo region is a far cry from the couple’s origins in North Yorkshire; Ms Smith was a response officer with the North Yorkshire Police, and worked in Skipton.

She also spent time as a sister at Leeds Teaching Hospitals.

Mr Smith grew up in a farming family in Stainforth.

The couple said: “We used to frequent the Skipton auction markets – the old one where Morrisons is now, and the new one, when we farmed in the area.

“Emma and I always maintain our links to Skipton.

“Our first night back this time [to the UK, which they will be visiting from late August] will be in Addingham at our friend’s pub, The Craven Heifer.”

The couple’s book is written with novelist Lisa Cutts, whose own Bulgarian rescue dog, Chuckling Custard, lives with her and her husband.

The canine cast of characters in the book includes Tipsy, Big Lad, Mr Wiggles, and Roshy the Wonder Dog.

It also follows the stories of those who went on to give the dogs new lives in Britain and elsewhere.

Street Hearts: An Extraordinary Story of Saving Street Dogs is published by HarperNorth and will be available from August 29 in hardback, ebook, and audio form for £18.99.