A GREYHOUND which vets said would never race again has rewritten a track's record books after being nursed back to health by two young brothers.

On Tuesday, Another Link - or Dash as he known to his following - won his fifth consecutive race at Wheatley Hill dog track, in County Durham.

The victory, which is the most consecutive wins a dog has scored in a re-graded handicap race at the track, also won Dash the Norman Fannon Memorial Cup.

The feat is made more difficult because every time a dog wins a handicap race, the handicap is increased.

The achievement is so unheard of that one bookmaker gave Dash a 33-1 chance of winning on Tuesday.

The accomplishment is all the more incredible because only five months ago, Dash's owners, brothers Tom and Paul Heilbron, of Heighington, near Darlington, were told the dog would be unlikely to ever walk again, never mind race, after suffering a critical injury.

In a real-life version of the Robert Carlyle film The Mighty Celt, the brothers nursed the dog back to health from near-lameness.

During a track race on December 27, Dash tore all the tricep muscles in his front right leg, leaving him unable to walk - and Tom, 14, and Paul, 11, devastated.

"We were not going to put him down. We said we'd try our best and, if he couldn't race, keep him as a pet," said Tom.

The brothers took Dash to see Gerry Wood, a dog trainer from Redworth, County Durham, who told the boys they could nurse Dash back to race standard.

As Dash initially found walking difficult, the family trained him by taking him swimming for ten weeks, until he built up enough strength to walk. As he progressed, they took him for a run.

When he sprinted without showing any signs of injury, the family tried him on the track.

"We put him in the traps," said Tom, "and he did one of the quickest times of his life.

"He came back and won his first race by five lengths, his second by three lengths and his third by two. He dead-heated his fourth and won his fifth by a neck. I'm amazed."

Through his injury, Dash received e-mail messages of support from track regulars, with many also sending congratulations to the family for his latest win. Dash is now going for his sixth consecutive victory.

At only 19 months, it is possible Dash has not yet reached his best, as most dogs do not peak until they are between two-and-a-half and three years old.

Tom and Paul's father, Kevin Heilbron, said: "A lot of people would have put him down, but it just shows you that miracles can happen."