by Martin Jefferies

A stray dog that was taken in by a Birchington man proved to be his owner's best friend when he alerted passers-by to a near-fatal seaside fall.

Champ, a Staffordshire bull terrier, like the one pictured left, was adopted just weeks ago but did not take long to repay the act of kindness, springing into action in an emergency last Wednesday (January 13).

His owner, a 49-year-old from Minnis Road, suffered severe head injuries when he fell 10ft from a promenade in a secluded part of Minnis Bay.

Sensing something was seriously wrong, the man's four-legged friend began running up and down the promenade and barking loudly, eventually attracting the attention of passers-by who alerted the emergency services.

Margate coastguard Pete Overton, who was one of the first on the scene, said: "The accident happened on a quiet part of the beach and if it wasn't for the dog's actions which allowed us to find the man when we did, we could easily have been dealing with a fatality. He quite literally saved this person’s life."

The injured man was taken by ambulance to the A&E department at the QEQM hospital, Margate, but his condition is not thought to be life-threatening.

Rescuers took Champ to a local vets where a microchip was scanned to reveal his owner's name and address. The hero hound was reunited with the casualty's mother-in-law moments later.

Mr Overton said: "It's not unique for animals to stay with their owner after an accident and it's something we've seen several times before.

"What's more unusual is that this was a stray who'd only been adopted a few weeks ago. He's certainly repaid his owner for taking him in."