A woman and her dog had to be rescued after getting stuck in mud at Folkestone harbour.

She had walked into the inner harbour while the tide was out on Sunday morning, but hadn’t realised how deep or hazardous the mud was.

A passer-by raised the alarm after noticing the woman was struggling.

Kent Fire and Resuce Service went to her aid, along with a coastguard team from Folkestone.

A Coastguard helicopter was also launched as there were fears for the woman’s safety if she remained stuck as the tide started to come in.

Firefighters Mick Scott-Smith and Chris Bray waded in and managed to pull her out.

Firefighter Bray said: “She was stuck in the mud and was holding a small dog inside her jacket.

“Initially we were waiting for a mud rescue team from Whitstable, but we decided to go in to see if we could get to her.

“We followed a stream forming in the mud and got close enough to grab her arm and pull her out.

“The mud at the harbour can be dangerous, especially if someone walked there at night and no-one knew they were in trouble.”

The rescue took around an hour. The woman, aged in her fifties, was taken home by police.