HINDLEY firefighters were called out to grapple with a Japanese heavyweight for half an hour -- when Neko, a huge fighting dog, got his choke-chain twisted around his neck.

Neko's owner Diane Potts, of Chatteris Close, Hindley, called out the brigade when Neko returned home from a walk with his choke-chain wrapped so tightly round his throat that his eyes were bulging and his windpipe seemed to be getting blocked.

Leading firefighter Ralph Twiss and colleagues from Hindley Fire Station spent 30 minutes trying to release 18-month-old Neko.

And although seven stone Neko's breed is a Japanese fighting dog, he proved a gentle giant as the firemen struggled to free him.

After several failed attempts to break the chain with ring cutters, the distressed dog was finally unleashed with bolt croppers, a huge instrument normally used for taking padlocks off factory gates.

Diane's next door neighbours, 15-year-old Ben and 13-year-old Scott Newsome, had taken Neko for a walk when the drama happened. When they got home they noticed that Neko was in distress with the chain twisted underneath his thick fur.

Diane, 24, a software engineering student at Wigan College, said: "Ben and Scott often take Neko out for a walk because I'm pregnant and because Neko is a big dog, he could easily knock into me.

"They arrived home from the walk. They said Neko had been fine. But we couldn't get his new choke-chain to come off. I've always had choke-chains before and I've never had a problem with them.

"But this time he wouldn't come into the house and his eyes were bulging. You could see the whites of his eyes were all bloodshot. It was really frightening."

Scott, who along with his brother is a pupil at Standish High School, ran next door to get dad Ron, who tried to get the chain off with a hack saw. But when his attempts failed they called the fire brigade.

Neko, which ironically means "cat" in Japanese, panicked when they tried to remove the collar and ran into Ron's kitchen.

But firefighter Twiss and colleagues eventually managed to release Neko. Mr Twiss said: "What had happened was the links had caught and twisted on the chain. The dog wasn't choking but the owner was concerned."

At one point the officers had to return to the fire station to get different equipment.

Mr Twiss added: "One of the officers and the owner held onto the dog while I tried to work on the chain with ring cutters.

"But the dog is quite big and if he wanted to move -- he did. Every time he moved I had to start all over again trying to cut through the chain.

"In the end we finished off the job using bolt croppers. He was a very well, behaved dog, he was brilliant.

"We do have air power tools that could have cut through the chain easily but we couldn't use them on an animal."

Neko is now back guarding his home and playing games.

Diane said: "Japanese Akitas are actually fighting dogs but Neko is a big softie."