Drama as dog rescued at Black Country canal

The female German Shepherd had become tangled in reeds and brambles at the waterside off Michael Road in Darlaston, near the Bilston border.

Two fire crews and a water rescue team were called in to help free the frightened dog, which is believed to be less than a year old.

Firefighters used a rope to pull the animal and tried to coax it out using dog food given to them by a local resident. It was eventually led to safety around two hours after it first got stuck just after 5pm yesterday.

At one point 10 firefighters were crowded round as they tried to delicately release the dog without harming or scaring it.

Once it was freed, the RSPCA took the animal to St George's Vets in Wolverhampton city centre. It will be taken into kennels if its owner cannot be found. Residents said they had seen the dog running around streets in the area earlier in the afternoon.

James Greenhouse, aged 14, raised the alarm after seeing the dog jump into the canal from a towpath in an attempt to swim to the other side. But it became caught in the plants and, as it got more distressed, ended up getting even more tangled.

He tried to dig the dog out with a shovel and cut back the bushes with shears until the firefighters arrived.

The Grace Academy pupil, of Michael Road, said: "At first I could see its head but then it fell further back and I thought it was dead. It looked like it was stuck in the dirt - I was calling it and it didn't respond so I tried to dig it out. It was really scared."

Joanne Delaney, whose nine-year-old son Josh helped try to free the dog before fire crews got there, added: "No-one knows who the owner is – the kids have been knocking doors asking if anyone has lost a dog.

"You don't know what the temperament of the dog is like so you have to be careful when something like this happens."

Crews from Bilston and Perry Barr were involved in the rescue.

Incident commander Neil Griffiths said it was an 'unusual' situation for firefighters to find themselves in.

RSPCA inspector Jackie Hickman added: "The fire crews did a great job."