'Very lucky' dog saved from cliffside 50ft off the ground in big firefighter rope rescue
Three fire crews came to the rescue of a very lucky dog after she went through a bush and over a cliff edge in Ludlow today.
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Pepper the spaniel was on a walk at the Whitcliffe Common Nature Reserve in Ludlow on Saturday morning when she got into bother on a cliff face overlooking the River Teme.
The Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) was called out just after 9am and three crews rushed to the scene from Ludlow and Shrewsbury stations.
Temporary SFRS group manager of operations and fire control Craig Jackson told the Shropshire Star: "Pepper was being walked at Whitcliffe Common in Ludlow when she went through a bush and fell over a cliff edge.
"Luckily she landed on a ledge approximately 50 feet above the ground. Crews from Ludlow stabilised the scene whilst a specialist rope rescue team came from Shrewsbury.
"Shrewsbury then sent a firefighter [Ed Booth] over the edge using rope rescue to rescue Pepper and bring her safely back to her owners, who were very grateful."
Pepper escaped without injuries and thanked her rescuers effusively with plenty of licks. Mr Booth, the crew manager at Shrewsbury, said that Pepper was "very lucky" to have landed where she did.
It was the second time in as many days fire crews were called out to help a pet that got into bother in south Shropshire. Ruby the dog fell into a disused concrete structure on Clee Hill on Friday and was eventually rescued by firefighters with the use of a long ladder.
Mr Jackson praised the SFRS crews who reunited the two dogs with their worried owners, and thanked the humans for doing the right thing.
"We would advise all animal owners to call for help if their animal is in danger - please don’t try and rescue them yourselves. Thankfully in this situation the owners called for specialist assistance.
"A huge well done to our crews for their professionalism and ensuring the safety of all those involved.
"Our Ludlow teams are on-call firefighters and thanks to their availability the scene was quickly stabilised. If anyone would like to become an on-call firefighter and make a difference then please check out our website."
