The owners of a dog who fell down a 15ft hole has thanked to the firefighters who saved him.

Two-year-old Rocky, an eight-and-a-half stone German Shepherd, fell down what is thought to be a sewerage tunnel or drainage hole on Polo Farm sports complex, sparking a major rescue mission by emergency services on the night of Saturday, April 18.

But it could have been much worse as his owner, Carmen Long of Littlebourne Road, Canterbury, almost fell in trying to save her beloved pet.

She said: “Rocky was chasing a rabbit and the next thing I knew, he had disappeared. I heard Rocky crying and then I saw the hole. It was so deep I knew there was nothing I could do.

"As I peered in to try to see if he was all right I slipped on the rotten metal drain covering, part of which had given way, and I almost fell in head first. No one would have found me down there and there.

"None of my family knew where I had gone – it really is a scary thought that I could have died."

Mother-of-three Mrs Long, 57, contacted fire crews just after 8pm. The expertise of Faversham’s animal rescue unit were also needed for what firefighters described as a “difficult and challenging” rescue.

Rocky’s luck did not end with the 18 inches of stagnant water at the bottom of the pit that broke his fall, he was also just inches away from a rusty pipe protruding from the wall.

After two hours, an animal harness and crane were able to winch Rocky out to safety.

Mrs Long’s daughter Monica, 26, who went to the scene to comfort her mother, said: "Our family want to thank the crew from the bottom of our hearts."

For more news from Canterbury, Whitstable, Herne Bay and Faversham visit kentishgazette.co.uk >>>