A “terrified” dog that leapt onto tracks at Tufnell Park Station was rescued by a Tube driver and reunited with its owner after it scurried into a tunnel.

The Yorkshire Terrier was still wearing its lead when two men saw it jump off the Northern Line platform as the train pulled in at 7.30pm on Monday last week.

Paul Huggins, a retired business IT analyst from North Fincley, was in the first carriage and saw the drama unfolding as the train crawled along before coming to a standstill for 20 minutes.

He said: “As the train was about to pull out of the station, the men thumped on the driver’s cab window and alerted him to the dog on the line.

“The driver then picked the dog out in his headlights further down the track and announced the reason for the stoppage over the speaker.

“The train moved slowly for a few yards and stopped when the dog was reached and the current was cut off from the electric rails.

“The dog must have been picked up and put into the driver’s cabin as the train then continued to Archway Station, where we saw two staff alight from the cab with the small terrier dog in their arms to applause from the passengers.”

Mr Huggins said the tale ended happily.

“Looking round the carriage I noticed big smiling faces, even though the Northern Line been held up for 20 minutes,” he said.