A treasured family pet was killed when he was trapped by a fallen tree battered in last week’s strong winds.

Ex-racer greyhound Harry was caught by his leg and tail under the toppled poplar tree in his owner’s garden in Hook Rise North, Tolworth.

Firefighters, neighbours and a vet rushed to help the 12-year-old blue brindle, who was too old and slow to move out of the way of the falling tree during last week’s fierce winds.

But sadly the severity of Harry’s injuries meant he had to be put down.

Harry’s owner, Richard Exworthy, was not at home at the time of the accident but was phoned with the news and hurried to spend a few last moments and say goodbye to his beloved friend of nine years.

The 47-year-old said: “He was a sweet and gentle dog who only ever wanted his tea, a cuddle, and a comfy bed.

“Needless to say we’re very upset by what happened, but thankful it wasn’t worse, we still have two dogs and none of the neighbours’ children were in the garden when it happened.”

Surbiton fire station watch manager Robin Hart said specialist equipment was used to lift the tree off Harry, who was an ex-racer and came from a greyhound rescue home.

He said: “We had to use the air gear to get the tree up. It was a massive poplar tree.

“The dog was stuck the whole time. He was a lovely dog, he was in an awful lot of pain but was very well tempered."

Mr Exworthy thanked his neighbours, firefighters and Aspen veterinary surgery, who all looked after Harry after the incident, which happened on Thursday, January 5, at around 1pm.

Head veterinary nurse at Aspen, Melanie Payne, said Harry, whose kennel name was Bangor Harry, had been freed when she arrived and was lying on an old curtain supplied by the neighbours.

The 38-year-old said: “The fire brigade called so I shot out straight away. It’s quite rare that this sort of thing happens, it’s quite an extreme scenario.

"He had multiple injuries that we diagnosed back at the surgery. He was euthanased in the presence of his owner. They were distressed as you can imagine."

Mr Exworthy said greyhounds, who are often abandoned and struggle to find new homes, make wonderful family pets and he said he would probably be visiting a rescue home to look for a new dog with his family soon.