Doggy day trip to Birmingham after Amazon van romp

Pepper the Jack Russell has an unexpected day trip to Birmingham, via an Amazon van

An Amazon delivery man has saved the day after reuniting a dog with its owners after it hopped into the back of his van.

Caroline Doyle from Leominster in Herefordshire said she was relieved to have pet Pepper back home after curiosity landed the pooch with a free trip to Birmingham.

CCTV showed the Jack Russell jumping into the van on Saturday while the courier was taking pictures to confirm a package had been dropped off.

Ms Doyle said it was a nightmare that had kept her up at night, worried Pepper might have got out of the van during its journey, with no way to track her. She felt instant relief when she got a call to say Pepper had been found still inside the vehicle the following morning.

Pepper had managed to get out of the family house after the door was accidentally left open.

Once CCTV put her next movements together, the family took to Facebook to share the story and appeal for help.

"We didn't have a registration number, just a side view of the van, but social media is such a powerful thing, [the post] went quite mad.

"The [van] driver's daughter [then] got in touch with my daughter after seeing the post.

"[My daughter] rang me up in tears and said 'they've found her, they've found her'."

Pepper was taken on a 67-mile (107.5 km) trip from Leominster to Birmingham in the back of the van - a journey which Ms Doyle said had left her pet feeling tired when she returned.

The driver did not at first realise the dog had sneaked into the van because he put his remaining parcels on the front seat, only spotting her the next morning, Ms Doyle told BBC Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

"She was very thirsty [and although the driver] had given her a drink she had been out all evening and missed two meals.

"I didn't want him to think he'd get into trouble, so I emailed Amazon to tell them what a brilliant job he did," she said.