A DOG who, in true Lassie style, saved the life of an elderly man trapped in a North-East wood, is in line for a national award.

Floyd, a dobermann from Rowlands Gill, Gateshead, found a man freezing to death in the dark of an 800-acre forest.

His owner, Norma Crossfield, said: "We have always thought Floyd was special. He is 100 per cent lovely."

Norma and her husband, John, were walking the dog in Chopwell Woods, behind their home, on a frosty night last April, when Floyd began acting strangely.

"Floyd kept going back and forth from a field we had passed, barking at us," said Mrs Crossfield. "Eventually, we followed him across and he led us to a man."

The 70-year-old had suffered a stroke and was covered in bruises after falling over.

"We found out where he lived and took him home and his wife phoned for an ambulance," she said.

"They told us later that he had been missing for seven hours. If Floyd had not found him, the doctors said he probably would have died of hypothermia.

"Floyd was such a hero that day and wouldn't let me leave without following him into the woods.

"Thank goodness I did, otherwise the outcome could have been so much worse."

The four-and-a-half year old's keen senses and persistence have earned him a place on a shortlist of 30 in line for the Golden Bonio Awards and a £1,000 prize.

If he is selected as one of the ten national finalists, he and Mrs Crossland will be invited to a VIP dogs' dinner, at London's Kensington Roof Gardens, on March 18.