Pet owner's miracle escape after getting stuck in riverbank mud trying to rescue his dog

A pet-lover had an amazing escape after becoming trapped in mud on a riverbank in remote countryside near Northampton while trying to rescue his dog.

The man got stuck on a usually deserted stretch of water between Pitsford and Northampton and was hidden from view by thick undergrowth.

But he was dragged out freezing cold after managing to attract the attention of two Angling Trust volunteers on the lookout for illegal fishing.

Vanessa Warner and Steve Allen stumbled across a pair of trainers and a dog lead at the top of a steep bank after hearing a commotion in thick reed beds.

Beating a path through overgrown weeds and nettles, the pair were amazed to find a grey-haired gentleman freezing cold and unable to free himself from the riverbed.

Vanessa, a recent recipient of an Angling Trust Volunteering Excellence Award, said: “Somebody must have been looking out for this man because no-one really goes down there.

"Being on patrol probably saved him — and his dog. He said he'd been in the water for about 30 minutes and he was so very tired and cold when we got him out.”

Steve added: “If we hadn’t been there at that time, there could easily have been a totally different outcome as he was in a really difficult situation with no chance of getting out on his own and totally hidden from view.”

Vanessa and Steve had been patrolling the river after a local resident had told them they had seen “something odd happening” in a very rural area known locally as Mill Lane — a river that runs from nearby Pitsford reservoir and through Northampton before joining the River Nene.

Mill Lane is a remote area that has very few visitors with the steep banks very overgrown.

Area co-ordinator Vanessa and fellow volunteer Steve kept the man calm as they lay across nettles to grab hold of his leather belt and help him scramble out of the water.

Vanessa and Steve then freed the tired, scared animal from reeds further downstream.

The voluntary bailiff service is part of the Angling Trust’s Fisheries Enforcement Support Service and is funded from fishing licence income as part of the National Angling Strategic Services contract with the Environment Agency.

Paul Thomas, Angling Trust Regional Enforcement Manager for the East of England, said: “This sort of action by our valued volunteers serves to further prove just how much of an asset to the rural community our voluntary bailiff service actually is.

"People think that we deal only with fishing related matters but, as demonstrated by Vanessa and Steve, being the rural community’s eyes and ears along our watercourses means that our volunteers are able and willing to react to a wide range of situations.

“On this occasion, Vanessa and Steve have disrupted serious illegal activity and saved someone’s life. I commend them for their awareness and have no doubt that their prompt actions saved the lives of both the gentleman and his dog that day.”