A man rescued an injured cat from the tracks at Fulwell station after seeing its plight on social media.

The rescue happened two weeks ago and was prompted by the man seeing a photo of the abandoned cat lying on the tracks.

When it became clear that the station was refusing to hold the line for the cat, the man and a friend drove down and asked the manager to reconsider.

He was told that the manager had contacted Network Rail who would send someone to get the cat, but with three minutes until the next train it was clear this would be too late.

Fearing for the cat's life, the man jumped down onto the tracks, grabbed her, and passed her up to his friend on the platform before getting himself back to safety.

"It's a really cute thing, the thought of a train going over it is heart-breaking," the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, later said.

"I just couldn't let it happen."

He was on the tracks for a bit longer than fifteen seconds, he estimated.

He needed time to coax the cat to come near him but also didn't want to scare her into running away or going near the live wire.

"I mean, I was worried," he said.

The cat was taken to a nearby vet who discovered she had a broken nose and was underweight.

It also emerged that the cat had previously been owned by a couple and that one of the pair gave the feline to a new owner in Teddington after the duo split up.

This means the cat could have been trying to return to her old home when she was found on the tracks.

Fulwell resident Siddy Nicholls was the one who raised the alarm on social media when she posted photos of the feline on the tracks.

"I basically woke up to a call from my Dad who had just got on a train at Fulwell station, telling me he'd just spotted a cat on the tracks next to him," she said.

"But it was too late for him to do anything.

"He sent me on a mission to get out of bed, get down there and tell the staff at the station that there was a cat stuck and possibly injured on the tracks."

She went to the station and posted photos of the cat to get some more help on the scene.

She said she hopes the cat is safe and comfortable, and is glad to have been part of helping the cat and bringing her to safety.

Fortunately, this feline tail has a purrfect ending as the cat found her forever home last week with a loving local family.