A dog ran onto the TT course at Bray Hill little more than one minute before the start of Friday’s second sidecar race, prompting concern from spectators.

The animal was one of two dogs that escaped from a house on the inside of the course shortly before the race got under way.

One of the dogs was caught before it escaped from the garden, but the other crossed the road midway down the hill. It then crossed back and was restrained by people in the garden it had escaped from.

The incident was witnessed by fans gathered on Bray Hill, where speeds can reach up to 145mph by the sidecars.

One eyewitness said: ‘Everyone was alarmed. It happened so quickly – the dogs shot out of the blue. After one crossed the road, it was thankfully quickly captured by people in a garden where there was a barbecue going on and returned to the safety of the house.

‘If it had happened a minute later, the sidecars would have been coming down the hill flat out. It could have been catastrophic.’

A photograph of the loose dog was captured by a spectator at the scene.