A four-week old puppy has been rescued by firefighters after it fell in a drain pipe.

The cocker spaniel was accidentally knocked into the Paddock Wood pipe by its mother.

Firefighters were called to Ewins Close just before 10pm yesterday and were joined by a specialist from Kent Fire and Rescue Service's technical rescue team and an engineer from Southern Water.

Barry Healey, the officer in charge and station manager for Paddock Wood, said: "We could hear the puppy yelping from inside the drainage pipe but it was difficult to see where he was.

"We used a snake eye camera – the type used to search collapsed buildings – to pinpoint the trapped puppy’s exact location – while Southern Water used their drain camera from the opposite end of the pipe.

"We were able to trap him between the two pipes to stop him falling any further as he was about a foot above entering the main sewer.

"We removed earth around the pipe and used small hand tools to make a hole to free the pint-sized puppy.

"He was tiny and fitted in the palm of my hand.

"After a wash, we left him lapping milk from a saucer. He was in better-than-expected shape once reunited with his mum, brothers and sisters."