'Lucky' dogs stuck in muddy harbour rescued

Two dogs who got stuck in mud at the bottom of a harbour have been saved.

Rescuers were called to Maryport Harbour in Cumbria on Thursday night after the pets jumped off the wall into "knee deep" mud.

An inflatable sled was deployed and rescuers placed the dogs in bags before hoisting them up the wall.

Michael Messenger, of Maryport Inshore Rescue, said the dogs were "a bit shaken up" but fine after cuddles and were lucky as the tide had been out.

Teams had initially thought children were also trapped in the mud near Maryport Aquarium.

One rescuer went down the ladder with the sled and managed to get one of the dogs to safety "pretty quickly".

"The other one wasn't quite as forthcoming," Mr Messenger told BBC Radio Cumbria.

The rescued pets were taken to the lifeboat station for a warm shower and reunited with their owners.

"It was a bit of an ordeal for them," Mr Messenger said.

He said the owners were incredibly grateful to have them back.

"Anybody that's got dogs will know, they're like members of your family," he added.

Coastguard Rescue teams from Whitehaven and Maryport also helped with the rescue.

Mr Messenger warned people against attempting such rescues themselves and to call for help instead.

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