A dog is lucky to be alive after it was thrown from a speeding vehicle.

Residents rushed to help the one-year-old terrier cross - now called Freya - taking her to a local vets and contacting the RSPCA after it was hurled out at 50mph in Yalding.

Inspector Kirsten Ormerod, said: “We were contacted by a member of the public who reported seeing a black and tan, curly-haired dog being thrown out of the driver’s side of a flat-bed truck that was travelling at around 50mph along Benover Road in Yalding, in the direction of Collier Street, at 5.45pm on Friday evening."

Insp Ormerod said: “Freya was incredibly lucky to survive after being hurled from the moving vehicle at such a high speed and vets were incredibly concerned that she may have suffered internal bleeding so performed surgery immediately.

"She is being monitored closely and is being given pain relief and I am keeping everything crossed that she pulls through after experiencing such callous cruelty.

“Witnesses described her being thrown with such force that she landed on the opposite side of the road, and the vehicle didn’t stop or even slow down.”

Resident Deborah Hollingdale said: “The woman in the car behind saw an arm stick out of the driver's window and throw something out as they were going about 50mph."

She said: "She thought it was a teddy bear at first, then she saw it was a dog which ran onto my drive.

"I found her, she wasn't making any noise. The first thing I noticed was that she looked starved.

"She was just skin and bones, you could see her hip bones poking through. Her fur was matted, she was covered in her own mess and she smelt terrible. It was clear she had been living in her own filth.”

Mrs Hollingdale wrapped the dog in a towel and rushed her to a vet.

She has since been back to visit. She said: "She's still very thin, but getting lots of small meals to help build her up gradually."

Mrs Hollingdale said: "She gave me a little lick when she saw me, it broke my heart.

“I’m so thankful she survived being thrown out of that van.

"Given the state she was in, I don't think she'd have lived much longer living in the conditions she was being kept.”

Insp Ormerod said: "We’re following up some lines of inquiry to try to trace the callous people who treated Freya like this.

"I’m really keen to hear from any other witnesses who saw what happened or has any additional information about the vehicle, the people who were travelling in the truck, or Freya herself."

Insp Ormerod said: “Perhaps you recognise her, or you have CCTV or dash-cam footage from the area, or you saw which direction the truck was heading in?

“I’d urge anyone with information to contact our inspector appeal line, in the strictest of confidence, on 0300 123 8018.”

Freya was not microchipped and had no identification tag.