A KEEN motorcyclist from Ipswich has come up with a novel way of travelling with his dog, Milly.

Tom Potter

A KEEN motorcyclist from Ipswich has come up with a novel way of travelling with his dog, Milly.

Kevin Whiting, from Nacton Road, has been carrying the Jack Russell and Whippet cross around in style for the last four years.

The forty-four-year-old dispatch rider explained where the strangely convenient idea came from.

He said: “One explanation might be that I couldn't afford a car or a girlfriend at the time so I got a dog and a motorcycle instead!

“But really I had been considering getting a dog for some time and I'd heard a story about Prince Rupert of the Rhine carrying a poodle into battle so I thought I'd do it.”

Whenever Mr Whiting starts the engine of his Yamaha Virago 535, Milly's response is to eagerly jump around in anticipation of another luxurious expedition.

Mr Whiting thought he might get a few sideways looks from pedestrians and fellow motorists but nothing prepared him for the reaction he and Milly usually get when they're spotted out on the open road.

Mr Whiting said: “I've had people literally queuing up behind me on the motorway so they can take a photo and I've been mobbed at petrol stations. It's quite disconcerting in a way!”

And Mr Whiting doesn't just take Milly to the shops and back. The longest trip they have embarked on together was last month when the pair came home from Cornwall - a journey of nearly 400 miles.

Mr Whiting said: “I had to take it quite easy with lots of breaks.

“If anything I feel more comfortable with Milly there as another pair of eyes and ears.”

Have you come up with a handy invention? Does your pet travel in style like Milly? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk