Shropshire Star

Fire crews rescue Shropshire man and his dog from cliff ledge

Firefighters used ropes and a harness to rescue a pensioner and his dog, who became stuck on a rock face at a Shropshire beauty spot.

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Border terrier Fenn went missing during an evening walk on Tuesday and was only found on Wednesday, 14 hours later, after a search by his frantic owner.

The dog managed to clamber up the cliff during a walk and when owner Michael Keogh later tried to reach her he became stuck too.

Both Mr Keogh and Fenn were brought down by a specialist team of firefighters using abseiling equipment.

Mr Keogh, of Back Lane, Bomere Heath, spoke of his ordeal in Nesscliffe and praised the work of his rescuers.

Happy to be home again – Michael Keogh and family pet Fenn

The 67-year-old said he spent a sleepless night worrying about the five-year-old family pet after she darted off on an evening walk.

He said: "We were walking around Nesscliffe near Oliver's Point when she took off after a squirrel.

"I whistled her to come back but I suspect she tried to climb up part of the cliff and got stuck.

"My wife and I spent three hours looking for her, and then we put out an appeal on Facebook.

"We were absolutely worried sick about her and I couldn't sleep at all.

"Someone offered to print some posters for us, so I went back in the morning at 7am to put these posters up and thought I'd just have another look around.

"I was worried in case Fenn had gone down a badger sett.

"Then I couldn't believe my eyes, but I saw a little head sticking up on the cliff and she was there."

Mr Keogh, a retired soldier, tried to get Fenn down by himself but soon realised that it was harder than he had thought – and became stuck fast.

He said: "I was worried in case she'd want to try to move, but she was stuck.

"I tried to get to her but I couldn't quite get there, then I tried to get back down and realised that even shuffling on my bottom it was a bit tricky, so I thought I'd better just stay there.

"The lads from Baschurch Fire Station came out and set about rescuing Fenn and assisting me. When we got down I took Fenn to the vet to be checked over and they'd seen the Facebook messages, so they were really pleased to see she was okay." Sandra Thompson, watch manager at Shropshire Fire Control, said the crew was delighted that the rescue had a happy ending.

Fire crews at the scene. Photo: Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service

She added: "A crew from Baschurch using line safety equipment, which is ropes and harnesses, successfully rescued Mr Keogh and Fenn from the ledge and they were both happily reunited with the rest of the family.

"Although this incident had a very happy ending the message that we must send out is that members of the public should consider their own safety first before attempting any rescue of pets from dangerous situations," she added.

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