by Lynn Cox

A six-month-old springer spaniel which fell 10 metres down a quarry in Halling, was rescued by firefighters and reunited with its owner.

The dog had disappeared on Saturday while out walking with its owner in woodland.

The next afternoon someone heard the dog whimpering in the quarry and thought it may have been trapped with its owner.

The police were called and officers decided the best way to find the pair would be to scramble the Kent Police helicopter to see if they were stuck in the quarry and after a short while, located the dog, called Max, via its thermal imaging camera.

Firefighters from Strood and Larkfield, along with police and officers from the RSPCA were able to make their way to the quarry to rescue it at about 8pm.

At the same time the owner, who lives in the village, had heard the police were looking for a dog and maybe its owner in the woods and went back to the scene in the hope they were looking for his pet.

Once there, crews were able to lower a firefighter from Deal’s specialist line rescue crew, with a dog box and get the dog inside and back up to its owner.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service, said: "The dog, which was a boy, had been down in the quarry for about 24 hours.

"It had fallen about 10 metres, but was fine, it was not injured, just whining a bit.

"The owner was very grateful to be reunited with the dog and we got back to the station at about 10pm."

Are you Max's owner, or do you know him? Call the newsroom on 01634 227803.