A PENDLE Council workman who helped save the lives of two Jack Russell dogs in Colne has received a certficate of commendation from the RSPCA.

Shane Robinson, 30, a street mason, used a compressor, a pickaxe and a crowbar to dig down one metre through asphalt, concrete and piping to rescue Lucy and Penny, a mother and daughter, in October last year.

The owner of the dogs, John Blades, was working at furnishings firm Furnico, in Greenfield Lane, Colne, and had taken the dogs with him to the site.

He had let the dogs out of his van for some exercise when they ran down a bank and in to a 10in narrow pipe.

The pipe ran from the factory grounds to a river outlet stretching for a distance of 50 metres and the dogs could be heard barking 40 metres along the pipe. They could not be reached easily.

Assistance was requested from the fire service, the council and the RSPCA.

Shane, with the assistance of the RSPCA inspector Dave Anforth, several workers from Furnico, firefighters and John's son Richard, began digging and removing asphalt and concrete.

Penny, six, and Lucy, nine, were rescued uninjured and returned to their owner after having been in the pipe for about five hours.

Shane, of Peebles Grove, Burnley, received the certificate at the RSPCA's East Lancashire branch annual general meeting last night.

He said: "This is a nice thing to get. It was a definite surprise to receive this because I was just doing my job.

"I got a phone call saying the fire brigade was there and they were struggling to get the dogs out. I decided we needed a compressor and we managed to get them out.

"I was a bit nervous about getting it because it is all a bit much for me because at the end of the day I was just doing what I'm paid to do."

Letters of appreciation have also been sent to John and Richard Blades, Lancashire Fire Service and Furnico Furnishings.

RSPCA north west regional superintendent Bill Cottingham said: "This was a terrific effort by all involved and is a great example of teamwork.

"Shane's hard work over a period of several hours played a major role in saving the lives of Penny and Lucy."