AN ADVENTUROUS dog escaped from his north London home and caught a train to Stansted Airport in search of his holidaying owner. Boisterous Staffordshire bull terrier, Diesel, alighted the train at Stansted Airport, but was quickly picked up by security st

AN ADVENTUROUS dog escaped from his north London home and caught a train to Stansted Airport in search of his holidaying owner.

Boisterous Staffordshire bull terrier, Diesel, alighted the train at Stansted Airport, but was quickly picked up by security staff.

Owner Sarah Chapman, 29, said: "He's never done anything like this before. I always spend a lot of time with him so I think he probably came looking for me."

Diesel, who was being looked after by a friend while Sarah was on holiday, escaped from his Tottenham home by unknown means and jumped on the first train to Stansted.

An animal warden at Uttlesford District Council was called by airport staff when Diesel arrived at the Essex hub without a collar or a passport.

"It's made me realise just how valuable getting him microchipped was," said Sarah. "It only cost a few pounds, which is nothing really considering that otherwise I'd never have found him, and I'll be making sure all my friends with dogs get their pets done too."

Thanks to the microchip the owner's detail were immediately revealed and Sarah could be reunited with her pet in quick time.

Animal Warden Sue Knight said: "Diesel's a lovely dog and it was a bit sad to see him go. Obviously though it's great that we were able to reunite him with his owner, and only because she'd been mindful enough to get him microchipped.

"Hopefully this will serve as a stark demonstration to dog owners of just how useful having your pet microchipped can be. If anyone else wishes to have their pet chipped, call me on 01799 510510 so we can arrange a time.