An eagle-eyed traffic officer helped save the life of a Labrador dog after spotting it lying in lane 3 of the M4 westbound near Hungerford.
David England, a National Highways traffic officer, was asked to keep his eyes peeled after controllers had received several reports that a dog was on the loose on the westbound M4 at junction 14 near Membury Services.
After stopping traffic temporarily using a rolling roadblock, David found Diesel who was a little scared but otherwise okay, at around 9pm on Saturday evening (6 August).
Once Diesel was safely in the car David was able to release the traffic and pull into a safe place where he discovered the owners contact details on Diesel’s collar.
David said: “Diesel was so happy to see a friendly face he jumped into the car after a kiss and a hug.
“It was obvious he was pleased to see me. We don’t always get many happy endings when it comes to animals and motorways but thankfully this was one case that ended well.”
Gary Middleton, Diesel’s owner said: "We were delighted, obviously, to get Diesel back but were shocked at the fact that he'd got on to the motorway! Our biggest concern, after the event, was what could have happened, causing a major accident or even worse, endangering human life.
“Very luckily for ourselves and Diesel somebody up top must have been looking out for him.”
Gary concluded: “Dave was brilliant. When we got Diesel back, I was expecting a telling off but he pointed out that he was okay, nobody was hurt and all was good. His biggest concern was that he now had dog hair on his seats and could he borrow our vacuum cleaner before handing the vehicle over to the night shift.”
National Highways on-road team manager, Richard Wadsworth, added: “All our traffic officers are true professionals, and all their decisions are made with safety and customer service at heart. I am very pleased to say Diesel was safely reunited with his owners, and they were delighted to have him back.”
If anyone spots an animal loose on the strategic road network, they should call National Highways on 0300 123 5000 or the police.