AS a teenage boy, Tom Heilbron’s dreams were inspired by a gentle, black and white greyhound so badly injured that a vet’s advice was to end its life.

Through heart-warming dedication, Tom not only saved the greyhound, but transformed him into a champion on the track.

Now, 12 years down the line, Tom’s dream has come true after qualifying as Britain’s youngest professional greyhound trainer at 26, with plans for one of the country’s best training centres on farmland in the heart of County Durham.

The seeds were sown in Heighington, near Darlington, when Tom was 14 and he and his younger brother Paul were given a greyhound puppy for Christmas. His mother and father, Tina and Kevin, had finally succumbed to the boys’ persistent requests to get a dog.

He was named Dash and he turned out to be fast enough to be a racer. Sadly, in only his second race, Dash had a catastrophic fall at Wheatley Hill, suffering life-threatening injuries.

Speaking from his training base, opposite a graveyard and down a bumpy farm track at Trimdon, there’s still emotion in Tom’s voice when he looks back.

“He tore his biceps, triceps and chest tendons. It was so bad the vet said he’d never walk again. He suggested it would be better to put him down, but we couldn’t do that, not in a million years.”

For months, young Tom slept next to Dash on the living room floor, nursing him and carrying him outside if he needed to answer nature’s call. Dash was also taken for regular sessions at a dog swimming pool and gradually rebuilt his strength.

His rehabilitation was so successful Dash was able to return to racing and, astonishingly, won his first comeback race by five lengths. Under the racing name of Another Link, he went on to win 14 races and holds the record at Wheatley Hill for five consecutive wins in regraded handicaps.

In recognition of their devotion, Tom and Paul were honoured at The Northern Echo’s Local Heroes ceremony in 2006, with Middlesbrough footballer Jonathan Woodgate presenting the award and Dash making a surprise appearance from backstage.

Tom, who still keeps his beloved dog’s ashes, said after his racing career, Dash had a happy retirement and died last year.

Dash remains the inspiration behind Tom’s passion for the sport. He was granted a greyhound trainer’s licence in 2014 and now, after training a string of winners, it has been upgraded to a fully-fledged professional trainer’s licence, with Tom contracted to Newcastle Greyhound Stadium.

“The initial licence was a kind of apprenticeship and the professional trainer’s licence means you’re qualified to train any number of dogs, providing you have the right facilities,” he explains.

In that respect, Tom has big plans. He’s converting a barn at Trimdon, where he will live with finance, Demi, and two-year-old son, Freddie. On adjacent land, there will soon be a sand gallop, dog swimming pool and paddocks. Link Kennels sounds more like a spa hotel for greyhounds than a training centre.

Tom currently trains 13 racing greyhounds, but he wants the number to double. His father has become a major player in the sport as an owner, so Tom will train for him as well as others.

“I’ve always believed happy dogs run faster so I want it to be one of the best training centres in the country – the dogs will want for nothing,” says Tom.

At the moment, he works as a quantity surveyor at Billingham, but the aim is to go full-time as a trainer. In the meantime, his working day involves getting up before 5am to sort out the dogs, then driving to work, and attending race meetings in the evening.

Oh, and there’s also the small matter of being British cage boxing champion and fighting for a European title in September.

“It’s hard work, but training greyhounds is my passion so it doesn’t feel like work,” says Tom.

The ultimate dream is to win the Greyhound Derby and, with Tom’s track record for fairytale endings, who’d bet against him?

“Whatever I’ve done, I’ve always wanted to be the best. I’m not in it to make up the numbers,” he adds.

As he speaks, he strokes a framed picture of Dash, which has pride of place on the wall at Link Kennels.

“He started it all and I think of him all time,” says Tom. “Aye, he was some dog was our Dash.”

• To contact Tom about having a greyhound in training, call 07943-294-572 or visit linkkennels.com