AN AGEING blind dog was rescued from a swollen river after falling off through a railway bridge in County Durham.

The 13-year-old animal and its female owner were walking near Weardale Railway Line in Stanhope yesterday morning (Thursday) when the dog slipped into a gap in the bridge.

The woman could not pull the animal out by its lead, and it fell into the River Wear, which was in flood.

The dog was swept around 50m downstream where it got caught in some trees near The Butts.

Fire crews from Stanhope and a water rescue appliance from Bishop Auckland attended the scene, and used rope lines to wade across the river and bring the stricken animal back to dry land.

Bishop Auckland fire station manager Steve Owers said: "The dog was very frightened because she cannot see anything, but put up no resistance during the rescue.

"We took her back across the river in a rucksack, and wrapped her in a foil blanket because she was very cold."

On Tuesday, firefighters rescued a Border Collie trapped in the middle of an icy pond in Hamsterley Forest, County Durham.

The animal was too cold to swim back ashore.