Dog rescued from river - firefighters issue warning to dog owners

Firefighters are warning all dog owners to stay safe when out walking their dogs and to keep them on the lead at all times following an incident in Halstead this morning.

Fire crews were called to help rescue a dog which had been swept down a river after running off from his owners during a walk this morning.

Crew Manager Lee Bacon said:

"The dog, a spanniel called Barney, got into the river which is normally quite calm and shallow, but was quickly swept away by the powerful swollen river after the heavy rain we've had in the last 24 hours.

"Barney luckily got caught a little way along the river and had managed to hang onto part of the river bank, but in desperation, the owner entered the river thinking they could rescue the dog. The owner quickly got themselves back out of the water once they realised how dangers the water was, and we strongly advise anyone not to get into a river in these conditions. It would really only take a matter of a few seconds to go into shock from the cold water and get swept away.

"We made the area safe and used an inflatable boom across the river to help incase the dog lost his grip on the riverbank. A crew from our Urban Search and Rescue Service base in Lexden, Colchester soon arrived with specialist water rescue equipment and managed to rescue Barney and bring him to safety.

"Barney really had a lucky escape this morning, it could have ended up much differently. We really want to urge all dog owners to keep you dogs on their leads especially while the rivers are so high and there is so much flooding."

Pictured: Crew Manager Lee Bacon with the very lucky dog, USAR team rescuing the dog.