A TATTOO artist who rescued a stray injured dog from the streets in Cyprus has secured a passport to bring the animal home to the UK.

Robbie Matthews, 38, of Peterlee, County Durham, took in the starving German Pointer after he stumbled across the dog at Paralimni, near the resort of Ayia Napa.

The liver and white dog, thought to be about two years old, was starving and struggling to walk and had lumps of bullet fragments in it.

Mr Matthews, who is working in a tattoo parlour in Paralimni, said: “I went for a run on my own on July 26 around 8am and I came across the dog.

“I didn’t know if he had rabies but he looked up at me with pleading eyes as if to say please help me. So I crouched down and kept my fingers crossed that he didn’t bite me.

“He was covered with ticks and fleas and I took him back to my place.

“The vet has cleaned him up and he’s on medication. We found bits of shot in his face and neck - they’ve been in him for a while as they have scarred over.

“He’s had some shots and he has his rabies shot in two weeks. He was scared for the first few days and we’re trying to beef him up.

“I’ve got him a passport so that he can travel back to the UK with me. It has cost me about £160 so far.

“I’m a dog person and I’d like to take him home and to give him a bit of a chance.”

Mr Matthews will return to the UK in the autumn with the dog, which he has named Evan. He plans to take the dog with him when he travels abroad to work next year.