A freight train driver who rescued a lost pug he spotted perilously close to a railway line has reunited the scared animal with her owners.
Poppy the pug ran away from her home in Rutland when she was frightened off by a speeding car. Her owners Dawn and Ian Bain said they spent all night searching for her.
The following morning, eagle-eyed train driver Michael Jones saw Poppy hiding in a hedge beside the track and was able to get out and collect her.
Mr Jones then put Poppy in his cab and let her sit on his knee eating crumpets as he drove his train, he revealed.
Michael Jones pictured with missing dog Poppy. The driver stopped his freight train to rescue lost pug and fed her crumpets
Dawn said: ‘Goodness knows how he spotted her. He took her home and he and his wife Julia looked after her all night.
‘Julia then rang around the vets in Oakham to see if anyone had reported her missing – which I had.
‘And then Michael brought her back to Oakham this morning on his next journey. ‘What amazing people, what amazing human kindness. There are no words to begin to express our gratitude.’
Mr Jones said he Poppy near the Langham Junction crossing – more than a mile from Northgate in Oakham, where she went missing.
He was slowly moving when a flash of red from her harness caught his eye.
‘All of a sudden there was just this tiny little face just looking back at me,’ he said.
He then stopped the train and jumped out of the cab to find the dog as she looked so lonely and was trembling.
Mr Jones then carried Poppy back to his train where she rode in the cab with him for about 20 minutes.
He also fed her crumpets and offered her water.
At about the same time Mrs Bain, 60, went to Oakham signal box to ask if anyone had seen her dog.
Poppy ran away from her home in Rutland when she was frightened by a speeding car on Tuesday
Poppy was hiding in a hedge on the side of a railway track a mile from where she went missing – but she was found
Poppy rode with Michael back to Oakham where she was reunited with her owner Dawn, who cried
The owners said there were no words to express their gratitude at being reunited with their dog
Many social media users were quick to praise the train driver, saying the dog was lucky to have been spotted
After arranging to hand over the dog, Mrs Bains waited on a platform for Mr Jones to drop off the dog.
This was at Oakham station, where Mr Jones had been granted special permission to stop to return the dog to her.
She said: ‘In comes this train with this beautiful man on, with Poppy sat on his knee.
‘I cried, massively, and he cried.’
Poppy is now recovering from the ordeal at home with her companion Tinker.
She also has no injuries – except for a bloodshot eye.
Mr Jones added: ‘I genuinely believe if I hadn’t had spotted her, she would never have been found.
‘Where she was, no one is looking there for any particular reason.’
Mrs Bain said she was really thankful that Mr Jones had been so observant and was kind enough to stop and rescue Poppy.
Locals and animal lovers have praised the train driver’s goodwill.
One said: ‘Great news. Restores your faith in humans,’ while another said, ‘I hope Network Rail gives this guy the praise that he and his wife deserve.’