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Adventurous Surrey cat earns its own railcard

Emily SinclairBBC News, South East
News imageSouth Western Railway Tilly, a black cat, with her owners and three members of rail staff. They are stood on the platform. South Western Railway
Tilly collected her railcard in Weybridge

An adventurous cat who travelled by train from Surrey to London's Waterloo station has earned itself a railcard.

Tilly travelled 17.7 miles (28.5km) from her home in Weybridge and had to be collected by owner Michael Hardy.

Mr Hardy told the BBC that he was "shocked" about the creation of a special railcard for Tilly, but that "it really made my day".

A spokesperson for South Western Railway said: "In case our whiskered wanderer is feline adventurous again, we thought we would issue Tilly with her very own Cat2Go smartcard – with free travel across our network for all of her nine lives. She just has to remember to tap in!"

News imageSouth Western Railway Tilly, a black cat with white paws, sat on a kitchen worktop with her face in a cup. A woman is stroking herSouth Western Railway
Tilly regularly enjoys a cup of milk at the station cafe

Two-year-old Tilly was adopted by Mr Hardy and his girlfriend after she was found as a stray.

Mr Hardy explained how he had knocked on neighbours' doors and got a local vet to check her microchip, but in the end the vet suggested they adopted Tilly.

News imageSouth Western Railway A black cat with yellow eyes staring at her blue railcard. She is being held by a woman in a beige coat South Western Railway
Tilly's owners say she goes to Weybridge station every day

Mr Hardy said Tilly is known for straying, having caught buses before and even climbing behind the bar of his local pub.

But she now has an Apple Air Tag attached to her collar so she can be tracked by her owners.

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