A RUNAWAY terrier led a student on high-speed foot chase across Colchester after sneakily escaping from its home.

The black and white Jack Russell escaped through an open front door from a property in Colchester’s Dutch Quarter.

Spotting the fleeing animal outside her window, Maria Mahy, 19, decided to give chase.

Little did she know how determined the plucky pooch was to enjoy its freedom.

Maria, who is a foreign languages student at Essex University, said: “I was still in my pyjamas at the time.

“I honestly thought I’d be able to catch it easily and it wasn’t going to cause such an issue.

“But the dog kept running round in circles up into the High Street and around, then back again.”

The chase ensued for well over an hour, with shoppers in Colchester desperately trying to do their bit to help.

NHS staff, woodland maintenance workers, dog handlers and even mothers with babies did their bit to try to catch the runaway, but to no avail.

Maria said: “I was asking people to grab it and people were trying their best to help, but the dog was scared. It just kept running and running.”

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Eventually the exhausted terrier ended up at Abbey Fields, about two miles away from its home, where Maria was able to corner it.

But the great escape had not finished yet.

Maria said: “It didn’t have a collar and I had no lead. It hopped out of my arms and started running again.

“This time I wasn’t letting it get away and so I managed to pelt it afterwards, across some roads, and caught it again.”

The plucky Jack Russell had escaped from an elderly neighbour’s home and belonged to the pensioner’s daughter.

It was safely returned to its owner.

Maria said: “When it was all over I felt quite stressed and I hadn’t even had my breakfast.”