A dog that fell down a cliff escaped uninjured thanks to a nine hour coastguard response.

The incident happened in Capel-le-Ferne near Folkestone on Saturday at about 6pm, prompting an emergency services response where Folkestone, Deal and Margate coastguards raced to the scene.

A "technical rope rescue" was performed to retrieve the dog where one coastguard member repelled down the cliff to rescue the animal before fighting through thick undergrowth.

In a statement released on Sunday Folkestone Coastguard said: "A technical rope rescue was performed to retrieve the dog, who wasn't overly grateful to see the first rope technician who got down to him

"Once secured in our animal rescue bag the technicians and the dog were then lowered to the bottom of the cliff in the Warren where they had to do battle with dense foliage and undergrowth to make their way out to the path."

The dog, which seemed uninjured,was re-united with its owner and taken for a check-up with a vet while coastguard members were relieved of duty at about 3am.

A coastguard spokesman added: "We wish him well hope for clean bill of health.

We returned to our various stations to check and clean our equipment before making our ways home around 3am.

Dog-walkers are being warned to keep their pets on a leash.

The spokesman added: "We'd like to advise owners to keep their dogs on leads near cliffs as it can take only a momentary lapse in concentration for the dog to find itself over the edge."