JANE Lowe has always known her dog Vincent is a bit special.But little did she know she had a real-life Lassie under her roof after he chased off a would-be thief who broke into her house in the middle of the night.

JANE Lowe has always known her dog Vincent is a bit special.

But little did she know she had a real-life Lassie under her roof after he chased off a would-be thief who broke into her house in the middle of the night.

Ms Lowe, of Palmerston Road, Ipswich, was in bed half asleep at 3am last Wednesday when she heard Vincent barking loudly.

She was too tired to get up so fell back to sleep and thought nothing more of it.

The next morning she went downstairs to find the front door wide open and a set of footprints along with her dog's prints on the floor, yet it was only when she spoke to neighbours that she realised what had happened.

She said: “I had my MP3 player on so I couldn't really hear much apart from my dog going crazy. I saw the dog's prints and other footprints in the morning and cleaned it up. I was talking to some neighbours about it later on and they said a person had tried to get in to another house in the street the other week but their dog had scared them off. This person obviously hasn't had much luck with dogs in the area.”

After chasing the would-be robber from the property, the four-year-old border collie cross with a lurcher then stood guard outside Ms Lowe's door for the rest of the night.

Had the burglar got passed Vincent, they might have had to contend with Ms Lowe's other pets which include rats, piranhas and a guinea pig.

Ms Lowe, who bought Vincent as a rescue dog two years ago, said: “I gave him lots of treats as a reward.

“He is very much my pet and constantly follows me around. A few years ago an intruder came into the back garden and he pinned him down before I called him off. He is very loyal and an incredible guard dog- always keeping watch.”

Ms Lowe had left her back door open to enable the dog to go outside during the night but admits now it was not a good idea and ensures the doors stay lock at night.

Both Ms Lowe's five-year-old Juliette and friend were in the house at the time but did not hear anything.

She added: “I was a bit freaked out. I am a single parent so I think that having a dog is essential. I was very grateful that I had him here and I am glad I didn't get up to see what was going on because then I would have been up against this person by myself. Everyone around here is calling him a hero.”

Has your pet protected you? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

Border collies are the most intelligent breed of dog

Other loyal dogs include;

-Greyfriars Bobby , a Skye Terrier in Edinburgh, Scotland , who reportedly spent every night at the grave of his master in 1858 for 14 years.

-Hachik? , an Akita who became a symbol of loyalty in Japan , is now honoured by a statue in Tokyo . Hachik? too is famous for his loyalty to his long dead master.

-Heidi, a Jack Russell Terrier from Scotland, made her way down a 500ft vertical drop to get to the body of her owner after he fell to his death while hiking in 2001. She then stood guard over his body for days.

-Kato , Nicole Brown Simpson 's Akita , who howled while seeing her murdered. Named after Kato Kaelin .

-Old Shep , a Border Collie , who - after seeing the coffin of his master loaded onto a train in Fort Benton, Montana in 1936 - maintained a vigil at the station for over five years.