Firefighters used a cow harness to rescue a 40 kilo bull mastiff after it fell into a 15-foot well.

Pet mastiff Clyde landed in three feet of water when he fell through a wooden well cover in Lenham Heath Road, Lenham on Thursday afternoon.

By the time firefighters from the animal rescue unit in Faversham got to him, Clyde was shivering and attempting to hold himself out of the water.

Watch manager Ian West said: “Someone had to go down the well with him. It was only just wide enough for a person and a dog so it was quite cosy.

The water was very cold; he was holding himself above the water, he wedged himself from one side to the other.

“Luckily he was a friendly dog; he seemed to know we were trying to help him.”

After attaching a harness normally used for rescuing cows to Clyde, four firefighters hauled him to safety.

The watch manager added: “He was quite a dead weight, especially because he was wet.”

Clyde did not suffer any injury during the hour-long ordeal, and was enjoying an invigorating run around the garden when the fire crew left.