THANK you for saving my precious Sherbert.

THANK you for saving my precious Sherbert.

Pensioner Jean Needham has today sent a heartfelt message of gratitude to a kind-hearted stranger who came to her aid when her beloved dog became trapped between a train and the platform.

Mrs Needham, 73, was leaving the train at Ipswich station on Tuesday following a short break in Lowestoft.

As she turned to pick up a bag, her Golden Retriever Sherbert missed her footing and fell into the gap between the train and the platform.

Mrs Needham, who lives in Grimsby but was visiting friends in Mersey Road, Ipswich said: “I turned away and when I turned back she was hanging and so must have slipped.

“I had hold of her lead but I did not have the strength to pull her up. She sort of hung there trying to scramble back up but she couldn't. It frightened me because I thought that she might harm herself.”

As Mrs Needham and her friend struggled to free Sherbert, a man who was waiting to get on the London-bound train quickly went to the assistance of the two women.

She said: “There were some people standing around but this young man came forward and grabbed Sherbert.

“Between us we got her on the platform, but he got on the train and I did not get chance to find out who he was.”

Mrs Needham, who has two Golden Retrievers is now hoping the man - who she said was wearing a suit and glasses and had dark hair - reads this article so that he knows how thankful she is.

She said: “I am very grateful. I hate to think what might have happened if he had not been there.

“He acted very quickly because the more she struggled the more she would have hurt herself.

“It all happened in such a flash. It gave me a scare but thanks to his quick action she was unhurt. He saved my dog who is very precious to me.”

As for Sherbert, she walked off without a scratch.

Mrs Needham added: “I was amazed really. She just took it all in her stride.

“I am sure it was scary for her when she fell down but when we got her up she just walked off as if nothing had happened. She was very calm but had she have been there longer she could have broken her leg.”

And Mrs Needham, who is a Christian, said she thinks someone was looking out for her that day.

She added: “I said to my friend that I think God was looking out for us because it could have been very nasty.”

n. Do you know the man who rescued Sherbert? Contact The Evening Star newsdesk on 01473 324788 or email starnews@eveningstar.co.uk

n. A puppy which had been trapped in a waste pipe for almost four hours was rescued last week by a drain company. Four-year-old Daniel Blair, from Northolt, Middlesex, decided the puppy “needed a wash” in the toilet and pulled the chain.

n. An OAP in Wales battled his way through thick black smoke following a chip pan fire in his house to rescue his five-year-old lurcher dog Bryn last Monday. His pet was hidden in a cupboard.

n. An Australian woman was last year saved by a pet dog which leapt to her aid after she was attacked by a large kangaroo. The dog heard the woman screaming and chased the kangaroo off.

n. A woman in America recently stopped traffic on a busy road to rescue a kitten which had been abandoned.