A man who restrained a dog he stopped running into the road while out walking his own pet was 'gobsmacked' to be told to leave it when he tried to contact the dog warden for advice.

Matthew Sayer, 40, from Woodhill Rise, Costessey, was returning from taking his dogs Marley, a two-year-old Labrador, and Sassy, a three-year-old Labrador Collie cross, on a weekly walk to Earlham Park when he spotted the lone Jack Russell near to Watton Road.

Mr Sayer, who installs and repairs guttering, said: 'It had a collar, but no tag. I quickly ran onto the road and put it on a lead. With that I rang the dog warden to let them know I had found the dog.'

After being told the dog warden was not available at weekends he was given an emergency number to ring.

Mr Sayer said: 'The best advice she could give me was leave it, tie it up and hope it would be found. I was absolutely gobsmacked – I just couldn't believe the advice she gave me.'

Fortunately, the dog was reunited with its owners just a few hours after going missing on Saturday after Mr Sayer, a father-of-two, reported the animal missing to police.

A city council spokesman said: 'Unfortunately we do not operate a 24/7 lost dog collection service and anyone reporting and restraining a dog out-of-hours will need to keep the dog until our normal service is available to arrange collection.

'The issue of identifying lost dogs also highlights the importance of ensuring your dog is wearing an ID tag as anyone finding a lost dog, can contact the owners easily to reunite a lost dog with its owner.

'Information on reporting lost or stray dogs is also on our web site www.norwich.gov.uk'.

To report a stray, 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, call 0344 980 3333, or outside these times contact 01603 412180 and they will arrange collection when the service resumes.