Pooch rescued after trapped 20ft underground while chasing rabbit

In a three-hour operation, the organisation managed to retrieve Peggy the Terrier after she fell a considerable distance and became stuck between boulders in Harpur Hill.

A spokesman for Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation said: "Peggy and Nelly's owners had been out walking the two dogs when both of them disappeared chasing a rabbit through a gap between some very large boulders - but only one dog returned.

"After some initial investigation, Peggy, was located down a 20ft drop which very tight and would involve some engineering to allow a human to progress.

"While equipment was being organised to be transported to the incident site, further investigation revealed another possible route to Peggy's location from lower down the slope.

"A brave member of the team was able to squeeze, slide and generally wriggle into the position where Peggy was located before extracting the casualty where she was reunited with her owners and Nelly with no apparent injuries - and was even seen trying to give chase to another rabbit though this time she was kept firmly on the lead."

The incident happened at the end of last month.

Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation is a voluntary team on call every hour of every day.

It relies on donations from the public to provide a professional rescue service and has come to the aid of more than 50 animals and more than 400 people.

Visit www.derbyshirecro.org.uk to find out more.