SHADY the dog was giving his master Darren Solway a friendly lick today after nearly drowning in a fast-flowing river.

The wet and terrified dog was rescued by firefighters late last night after being swept 30 metres inside a pitch black culvert about three-quarters of a mile from end of St James's Road, Church.

Accrington firefighter Simon O'Connor, wearing a safety line, waded along the tunnel to rescue the frightened Staffordshire bull terrier/labrador cross.

Shady had managed to scramble out of the water, tearing his toenails, and was perched partially submerged on a ledge inside the culvert.

Darren, 20, of Major Street, Accrington, was walking through fields near the motorway when Shady plunged down a bank.

Darren,who lives with his girlfriend Michelle Wilson and their baby daughter Jordice , said: "He just disappeared. I saw him drop and heard him cry.

"I was looking for him for about 15 minutes and then heard him screaming in the tunnel.

"There was no way I could go in. I couldn't see anything and when I put my foot in, the current took my foot away.

"The fire brigade brigade did a really good job."

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