A mystery bride who bought her dream wedding dress thanks to a charity lottery and then donated it back to one of its shops after her big day, has been found thanks to KentOnline.

A dress was donated to the Demelza House Hospice Care for Children shop in Sittingbourne, with a note saying it was purchased thanks to a win on the charity's lottery.

An online search was sparked to find the owner for Demelza to say thank you.

Paulette Pattenden soon came forward. She was proposed to by partner of 10 years Malcolm Philpott at her daughter’s wedding at Upchurch River Golf Club in 2014.

The 58-year-old grandmother soon began her search for a dress at Jodi’s Bridal Gowns in Maidstone and soon realised the price of gowns had rocketed since her first marriage.

She said: "I had naively gone out with the idea of spending £500.

"The dress I really loved was two pounds short of £1,000. It seemed an awful lot to pay for something you only wear once."

Paulette, an office manager for a wholesale fruit and veg company in Molash, between Faversham, Canterbury and Ashford, then returned home.

When she got home she opened her post and found a letter from the Bobbing-based charity's lottery.

Inside was a cheque for £1,000, enabling her to buy her dream dress.

She added: "I couldn’t believe my eyes.

"I’ve done the lottery for years, not because I want to win, but to support the charity. It was as if it was meant to be – and meant I could buy my dress."

Paulette married retired firefighter Malcolm at a ceremony at the Upchurch golf club in June 2015.

The Norwood Walk, Sittingbourne, resident said: “We had quite a big wedding, with five bridesmaids, who all looked gorgeous – but the dress made my day absolutely perfect.

"Afterwards, it hung around at my mum’s for a while, then in my wardrobe, taking up space.

"In the end, I decided it would be nice if I could give it to someone else to make their day just as special as mine had been."

It is now for sale in a Demelza charity shop in Burgate, Canterbury.

Lauren Ashby, shop manager, said: “It was a lovely gesture for this lady to give the dress back to us – I’m sure it won’t be long before it is snapped up!”

Demelza’s lottery gives away £1,000 each week to one lucky entrant as well as other smaller prizes.

To find out more about Demelza and its lottery, visit demelza.org.uk