A BET has failed to come up trumps for an animal charity.

The wager came about after bookmaker BetFred offered £500 to anyone who managed to safely capture Dwain, the dog which roamed wild around Sedgefield Racecourse, County Durham, for several months.

After numerous attempts at getting hold of the collie, dog warden Shane Roxby finally managed to catch Dwain in a trap loaned by the RSPCA.

He agreed to donate any winnings to the animal charity and the £500 bet was then placed on Cassies Fortune, a well-fancied runner at Sunderland Greyhound Stadium.

But despite being the most fancied dog at any race so far this year, it trailed in fourth.

Amy Starkey, commercial executive at Sedgefield Racecourse, said: "It opened at odds of 6-1 and went off at 5-2, but came in fourth."

A victory would have netted the RSPCA £3,500, but the charity is still ahead in the money stakes as BetFred agreed to donate £500 even if the gamble failed.

RSPCA spokeswoman Heather Holmes said: "For a charity that relies for donations on its existence this amount is incredibly welcome.

"For us, £500 is an awful lot of money, so we're very grateful to the dog warden and the bookmaker for thinking of us."

Meanwhile, Dwain is settling well into his new home.

He was taken in by Cassandra Jackson, who works at the racecourse, and is proving a well-behaved pet.

* Sedgefield racecourse is staging a meeting this afternoon, with the first race at 1pm.