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All is not lost: Thousands of Brits have joined an internet campaign - to reunite a lost Woody with his real-life Andy

Thousands of people across the UK have joined an internet campaign to reunite a lost Woody from Toy Story with his real-life Andy.

The story - which mirrors the plot of the Hollywood movie - began when motorist Bev McNeill, 50, saw the doll lying on the side of the M4 after falling from a moving car.

She was travelling too fast to pull over and rescue the toy which was sprawled on the hard shoulder, but she made a note of the location.

When she found herself stuck in a traffic jam at the very same spot seven weeks later she was astonished to see the cowboy still lying in the dirt.

She rescued the doll - which was missing an arm but still smiling and wearing his cowboy hat and boots - and took him home.

Now Woody, who has 'Liam' rather than Andy penned on his right foot, has become the centre of a web campaign to get him home after his travels.

A Twitter appeal has been retweeted more than 2,300 times in 24 hours and the hashtag #getwoodyhome was trending across the social network this afternoon.

The motorway drama mirrors the scene in the first Toy Story film where Woody is booted out of the back of a removal truck by the other toys amid suspicions he killed Buzz.

'I think some little boy was playing with him near the window and he got dropped out,' says sales executive Bev Mc Neill.

'I'm a big fan of Toy Story and of Woody in particular and it was so sad to see him lying there on the side of the road - just like in the movie.

'But the cars were starting to move again and I didn't have time to get out, but I made a note of the lamppost number.

'Seven weeks later I was stuck in exactly the same spot and I thought of Woody again. I hopped out of the car, jumped over the barrier and found him.

'The guy in the car behind me was giving me a very strange look, but when I held up Woody to show him he just said 'aww'.'

Unlike the movie Woody, this toy has 'Liam' written on his foot, a sure sign of ownership, left. Woody himself looks fairly chipper after his ordeal, right, although he has lost his right hand, he's still smiling

Stranded on the hard shoulder: Woody was found by Bev O'Neill at the side of the M4 after falling from a moving car

Bev was driving from her home in south east London to her second home in Marlborough, Wiltshire, when she spotted and picked up the doll close to Heathrow Airport.

He had been sitting in her office for two weeks before her colleagues launched a Twitter campaign - with the hashtag #getwoodyhome - in a bid to reunite him with 'Liam'.

The appeal has so far had 2,000 retweets including celebrity backers like TV chef Phil Vickery, cricketer Phil Tuffnell and Football Focus presenter Dan Walker.

Bev added: 'It would be wonderful to see little Woody and Liam reunited. I bet Liam is really missing him.'