TV star Roxanne Pallett's Shrewsbury rail attack terror

Former Emmerdale star Roxanne Pallett was attacked by thugs with a vicious dog during a train journey before they fled at Shrewsbury Station.

Three people – one of them female – harassed the actress and used a Staffordshire bull terrier to intimidate her as she travelled on a train to Manchester Piccadilly.

One reportedly screamed at the dog to 'Get her!', while another grabbed the animal, lifted it up and waved it in the TV star's face as the train pulled into the station, according to reports.

The star, who played Jo Sugden in the ITV soap until 2008, had to pull on the communication cord to alert guards who rushed to her aid.

But the three yobs fled the train with the two Staffordshire bull terriers they had with them at Shrewsbury Railway Station.

The incident happened on Monday on the 3.05pm Carmarthen to Manchester Piccadilly service.

A friend of the star said: "They started out by calling her by her Emmerdale name and their abuse got nastier and nastier.

"They started saying how she must think she's better than everyone else because she chose to ignore them. She was petrified and thought the dog was going to rip her to pieces."

The 29-year-old actress, who has previously appeared on Dancing on Ice, continued her journey to Manchester Piccadilly where British Transport Police took a statement.

Officers were today going through CCTV footage of the incident in an attempt to help identify the offenders.

A spokesman for the BTP said: "BTP officers were called to Manchester Piccadilly Station at 7.29pm on Monday after a report of abusive behaviour towards a passenger on the train.

"A 29-year-old female passenger reported that she was verbally abused and threatened by a group of two men and a woman.

"Anti-social behaviour on trains, stations or anywhere else on the rail network is unacceptable. Any incident of this nature, reported to BTP, will be the subject of a thorough investigation."

Contact BTP on 0800 405040 if you have information about the incident.