Learner train driver rescues puppy from tracks in middle of lesson

A learner train driver was forced to stop the train in the middle of a lesson to save a puppy when it was seen running on the tracks.

Stefan Hug, 32, from east London, stopped the Southern service from Beckenham Junction to London Bridge on Wednesday morning after seeing the small black puppy running alongside the train.

The incident happened at around 7.50am near South Bermondsey – the penultimate stop on the train’s journey.

“We had just left South Bermondsey,” Mr Hug said. “That was our last stop before London Bridge.

“Shortly before we left for South Bermondsey, I saw the puppy running on the left-hand side of our tracks. I engaged the brakes and brought the train to a stop.”

The trainee and his teacher, Kevin Timmins, 54, from Kent, collected the uninjured female puppy safely from the tracks, bringing her on to a nearby platform and feeding her ham – authorities are now searching for her owner.

Mr Hug said dogs are a rare sight on the railway track but the skills he learned in the classroom quickly “kicked in” as he completed his first rescue mission on the job.

He said: “I think because you talk about it so many times the procedure just kicks in and you just know you need to bring the train to a stand, take a deep breath and think logically the next thing to do.

“Of course, that was contacting the signaller to get permission and authorisation to do anything before we step outside and try to retrieve the puppy.”

Mr Timmins praised his trainee for his composure throughout the incident.

“Stefan alerted me that he’d seen a puppy running next to the front of the train. He immediately put it into the correct braking procedure to bring the train to a stand,” said Mr Timmins.

“It was really good to see Stefan do those procedures correctly, and I’m really proud of him.”

Mr Timmins hopes that the incident serves as a reminder to dog owners to keep their pets safe on railway platforms.

“It just reinforces the point of making sure if people have dogs on the platforms, they should be on the leash all the time and to keep pets near to you,” he said.

“It’s so easy for dogs to run off and run on the rails and it’s very hard to get them back.

“It does put a lot of people in danger and it’s a big operation to get them off the tracks.

“Hopefully, this is a good wake-up call to keep all of your animals close to you on leashes whilst you’re on railway property.”

Pictured top: Stefan Hug, 32, holds the puppy he saved (Picture: Govia Thameslink Railway)