A dog which was trapped underground after getting stuck in a badger’s sett for nearly three days has been rescued after a joint effort by the RSPCA and firefighters.
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said it was called to Diamond Jubilee Wood in Normanton Le Heath just before 12:00 GMT on Tuesday.
They had been contacted by the owners when the cocker spaniel failed to emerge from the sett in 60 hours.
Specialist equipment was used to locate and rescue the dog who was then left with the owner and the RSPCA.
The RSPCA said Winston disappeared into the sett on Saturday and his owners, Heather and Alex Peake from Coalville, spent hours calling for him.
Badger setts are protected and it is advised a dog must be left for 48 hours before any action is taken.
A request then has to be made to Natural England for a licence to dig the dog out.
“The last few days had been awful,” said Ms Peake.
“We felt so helpless knowing Winston was trapped.
“When the firefighters began searching we really thought we had already lost him and we were mentally preparing ourselves for the worst.
“I just burst into more tears when we finally saw his little face poking out of the mud.”
The dog had crawled into the sett and could not escape after it became trapped in the mud. It was finally freed on Tuesday after 60 hours
The fire service said two crews were involved in the rescue operation – one from Coalville and a technical rescue team.
It said they were able to establish the dog’s position using specialist listening and locating devices.
After nearly five hours, crews were able release to the dog by digging it out from the ground.
The fire service said the sett was not believed to be active.
RSPCA inspector Sue Haywood said: “The fire service did an amazing job carefully digging him out of the tunnel.
“The moment he was finally rescued was just brilliant – we were all just over the moon and despite his ordeal he was relatively unscathed.”
Ms Peake said the three-year-old “miracle” dog was exhausted and in shock but was recovering well.
