A ROUTINE dog walk turned into a nightmare for a dog and its owner today.

Despite being on a lead, 12-year old family pet Ellie wandered through railings on a creek bridge near Motney Hill, Lower Rainham, and plunged 20ft. It took four firefighters to pull Ellie out of the mud near Motney Hill, Lower Rainham, near Gillingham.

She was badly shaken after her ordeal but after a quick hose-down was looking more like her old self - to the delight of her owner Fred Johnson.

“It wasn’t easy to pull her out,” said leading firefighter Paul Foster.

FULL STORY IN THIS FRIDAY'S MEDWAY MESSENGER