Family fury as pet dog's body left in bag at train station

Lynsey Francis, from Wem, said their family pet Max recently escaped from their home and into their neighbour's garden, which has a train line at the bottom of it.

She said the family and other friends spent three days searching for the black Labrador before being told his body was in a bag at Wem train station.

Now she has hit out at Network Rail for not contacting her for 10 days over the incident.

Mrs Francis said: "When Max first went missing we called Network Rail to see if there had been any sightings.

"We were told nothing had been logged and breathed a sigh of relief.

"We then continued our searching. My husband Nick was out at 5am in the morning searching for him. Other members of community were also brilliant in helping search for Max.

"This was the first time Max had ever got out. We had him since he was a baby, just over six years ago."

The family searched for Max for three days before receiving the devastating news that he had died.

"My husband went to speak to a manager at Shrewsbury train station," Mrs Francis added.

"They said the dog had been in a bag since Wednesday at Wem train station.

"My husband drove straight to Wem and brought Max home. He cleaned him and gave him a proper burial. We were all so upset.

"Max had a microchip so I don't understand why we were not consulted sooner.

"My children, who are eight and 12, are so upset at what has happened.

"We spent three days searching for Max and were mortified to find out how he was treated.

"We have not heard from Network Rail in 10 days. We want answers."

Ffion Pocock, communications executive at Network Rail, said: "We are aware of this unfortunate incident and are in contact with the family concerned.

"We completely understand that this is a very upsetting and distressing situation for the dog owners, and our community relations team have been in touch with the family and will continue to work with them to ensure relevant lessons are learned."