A DOG owner has told of the terrifying moment her puppy jumped over a 16ft wall into a freezing river.

Natalie Gibson, 16, watched in horror as Amber, her 15-month-old Labrador, leapt into the water after being let off her lead.

Amazingly, Amber escaped without any injuries and is now happily back at home after being winched to safety by firefighters.

The incident happened when Caroline Gibson, 41, and her daughter, Natalie, of Greenbank Street, Rawtenstall, were out walking Amber and Sally, also a Labrador, on the car park behind Jacobson's factory in Bacup Road, Rawtenstall.

Natalie said both dogs were let off their leads to get some exercise when Sally ran off.

She said Amber became confused because she thought Sally was behind the wall.

She said: "We were terrified. I just saw the back of her going over the wall.

"I thought that was going to be it and that we would never see her again. But when we looked over the wall, we saw her floating under the bridge and it looked like she was trapped. She must have been really scared, it was horrible to watch."

Natalie ran to the nearest house and dialled 999 to request the help of the emergency services.

She added: "We didn't know what to do because there was no way we could have got down to help free her so the only thing I could think of was to phone for help."

Sub Officer Simon Fryer attended the incident and said: "The dog had jumped about 16ft and was trapped at the bottom.

"She was completely stuck but seemed fine. The owners had let her off the lead which was when she'd run off and jumped over the wall.

"We lowered firefighter Wayne Haworth down to the river using ropes.

"We also used the ladders and tied them together and lowered them down once we had somebody there with the dog.

"The two firefighters managed to grab hold of the dog. We had to put the dog in a big sack tied at the top to make it safe to lift.

"We winched it up a rescue line back to safety where the dog was given a self-heating meal.

"It was good to have a happy ending."

Natalie added: "We went round to the Rawtenstall Fire Station yesterday to drop off a box chocolates to say a massive thank you because they saved Amber's life."