THE owner of a family dog that died after it was hit by a train in Weston is warning pet owners to be careful around railway tracks.

THE owner of a family dog that died after it was hit by a train in Weston is warning pet owners to be careful around railway tracks.

Mother-of-two Tracy Carter was out walking Torque, an 11-month old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, with her partner, Matthew Rother, on December 29 when the accident happened.

Tracy lives in Tennyson Avenue with her two sons, 10-year-old Jordan and Jack, aged nine, who both go to Windwhistle Primary School.

The 31-year-old said: "I had let Torque off the leash in St John's Playing Fields, as I've done hundreds of times before.

"But on this occasion he found a gap in the fence and managed to crawl through it.

"We called and called but he never came back.

"We found a big hole when we checked and we told the kids Torque had been taken away by a train man.

"I want people to be careful when they are walking their dogs near railway lines so they do not have to go through what we have been through."

The family has another dog, Trojan, who is a Jack Russell cross.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "We are sending a team to the area to investigate and believe any damage might have been caused by vandalism.