IN a tale of rags-to-riches, an abandoned racing dog has found a new career on the silver screen after landing a star role.

Things were looking bleak for Cerberus, a greyhound who was picked up by the North-East Greyhound and Lurcher Rescue group after it was thought he was abandoned because of an injury.

At the same time, County Durham dog trainer Sue Potter had been conducting a fruitless search across Ireland and England, looking for a black greyhound to appear in a film being shot in Ireland.

But when she came across Cerberus, who was living in kennels only a few miles from her home in Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, she knew she had found her dog.

Dispelling the myth that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, Cerberus underwent three weeks of intensive training, before greyhound and owner were taken to Ireland for filming.

As the dog was one of the film's main characters, he had to be trained to do tricks, including standing in a racing trap at a greyhound stadium and then lying down when the doors came up and the hare sped past.

Ms Potter, who runs Actadog, in Pelton, and regularly trains animals for films, also had to work with the film's other dogs and get one to run on a treadmill.

She said: "When we took him to the racing track, you could see him thinking 'I remember this'.

"He went ballistic when he heard the noise of the hare going round the track."

He did get some star treatment and even had canine body doubles for some of the racing scenes.

Ms Potter, who has just returned from filming this week, said: "His favourite pastime became lying down on his super-duper, double-quilted duvet in the back of the van."

"He loved it. He is used to the good life now."

He even had the film company behind the production named after him, Cerberus Films, although Ms Potter said Cerberus is just his stage name.

She said: "He was actually called Kenny when we got him, but he did not answer to it. Now he answers to Cerberus."

Margaret Gardener, of the North-East Greyhound and Lurcher Rescue group, said: "He fitted the bill, so he has gone from being a stray to quite a celebrity."

The film, called Man About Dog, is due to be released in May.