The Repair Shop viewers broke down in tears just minutes into Wednesday’s episode after a tragic reveal about one restoration.

The emotional reaction to the show came after a ‘heartbreaking’ tribute to a Lockerbie bombing hero.

Neil Powell appeared on the BBC series with a dog jacket worn by the four-legged stalwart, Pepper.

With the pup’s coat looking worn out, Neil appeared on the show in the hope of having the garment restored.

The Border Collie was previously qualified as a search and rescue dog at just 18 months old to help save lives in the Lockerbie bombing disaster.

He also helped rescue a little German boy who was missing for more than 36 hours in dangerous weather conditions.

The BBC’s Repair shop viewers had broken down in tears just minutes into Wednesday’s episode

The emotional reaction to the show came after a ‘heartbreaking’ tribute to a Lockerbie bombing hero

But after hearing the story of the pooch’s dedication to saving the disaster victims, viewers found out how Pepper pᴀssed away from chemical exposure and were left sobbing over the emotional story.

Flocking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one viewer penned: ‘Already crying at #therepairshop.’

‘#TheRepairShop- those poor little dogs like Pepper who developed illnesses and died in their roles as search and rescue dogs as a result of the despicable cruelty of humans. People forget that innocent victims aren’t always human and that animals are a much nicer species’

‘The border collie rescue jacket will have me sobbing by the end as I’ve had a few Border collies who looked like brave Pepper.’

‘Pepper was a hero, No idea of the story about the search dogs.’

‘What is is about dog collars,’ followed by a crying emoji.

Opening up about Pepper’s experience, Neil said: ‘As a result of that, poor Pepper, he and six other dogs they all developed tumours in their nose and their wind pipes.

‘Not sure if it was the aviation fuel or what was it, but they died. Yeah, it was heartbreaking.’

Neil Powell appeared on the series with a dog jacket worn by the four-legged hero, Pepper

With the pup’s coat looking worn out, Neil appeared on the show in the hope of having the garment restored

But after hearing the story of the pooch’s dedication to saving the disaster victims, viewers found out how Pepper pᴀssed away and were left sobbing over the emotional story

Later on in the show, fans witnessed expert Suzie bring the leather collar back to life while Rebecca washed away years of dirt from the late pup’s garment.

The Lockerbie disaster was a shocking act of mᴀss murder which left an indelible mark on a Dumfriesshire town.

In 1988, Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie in south-western Scotland, killing all 259 on board. Another 11 people died when wreckage hit their homes.

The events inspired recent Sky drama Lockerbie, starring Colin Firth and streaming on NOW. 

The Repair Shop airs Wednesday at 8pm on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer.