Homeless man is "distraught" after stranger takes his dog

A homeless man from the West Midlands is said to be "totally distraught" after his dog was taken from him by a stranger.

Alan is well known by people in Sutton Coldfield and he was often found sitting outside the Tesco Express in Streetly, with his dog Trixy.

Two weeks ago (February 12) Alan suffered a fit whilst waiting for the bus near Perry Park and was subsequently taken in an ambulance.

Witnesses say that a man, who called himself Mark, offered to take Trixy, as she couldn't accompany Alan to hospital.

When he recovered and could leave hospital Alan revealed that he doesn't know anybody by the name of Mark, and he hasn't seen Trixy since.

Locals have now started an appeal on social media to track down his beloved pet.

Joanne Miles created the "Finding Trixy" group on Facebook, which has gained almost 500 members in 24 hours.

She says that since coming out of hospital Alan is on the mend, but he is really missing his companion.

She added: "He really loves her, he doesn't have many belongings but the only photographs he had of Trixy were two framed photographs, so I had to take a photo of them to use in the group.

"Trixy was Alan's only companion and he has been walking miles every day to try and find her. It's heartbreaking."

They hope to find the stranger who is said to have called himself Mark in the hope that they can reunite the pair.