FAITHFUL guide dog Lloyd is trained to look after blind Tom McInulty during every step he takes.

But the roles were dramatically reversed when 49-year-old Tom saved his canine companion from being crushed beneath the wheels of a moving car.

It happened while Tom was making his daily journey to work from Eastleigh Railway Station to the Bishopstoke offices of the Hampshire Association for the Care of the Blind.

Tom, who is the association's advocacy and information officer, was walking on the pavement in Bishopstoke Road at 8.30am on Tuesday.

He said: "All of sudden I heard an engine revving and a car coming back towards us.

"I pulled my dog back out of the way. If I had not responded as quick as I did the dog could have been under the car wheel.

"Lloyd is trained to look after me but it was my turn to look after him."

He said it caused considerable stress to him and his dog.

Tom reported the incident to the police but he says he needs independent witnesses.

The drama comes just four months after Tom and Lloyd had another close shave in Bishopstoke Road. It was only when Lloyd yelped that Tom realised his four-year-old guide dog had been accidentally hit by a car as it was crossing the pavement from a shop forecourt.

The dog was fortunately not badly hurt but now Tom is appealing to motorists to take more care when they have to cross pavements.