A GERMAN Shepherd called Cee found himself all at sea this morning - and needing the assistance of the RNLI.

Cee was on the beach at Redcar when he decided to swim off from his owner just after 11am.

His owner, a local woman, dialled 999, and the Redcar RNLI inshore lifeboat launched to rescue the dog within 10 minutes of the alarm being raised.

Volunteer helmsman Cameron Bond said: "When we found him, the dog had swum about 120 metres out and was looking pretty exhausted.

"One of the crew grabbed his collar while I grabbed his backend and we pulled him into the lifeboat.

"He was very glad to see us, and he was well behaved on the way back to the shore."

 The dog was taken to the lifeboat station where it was put under a warm shower before being reunited with his grateful owner.

Cee’s owner said: "He was so out of character. Normally he comes straight back when call him. I was so worried about him.

"I was so grateful that he was safe when he was brought back to me. Those ten minutes felt like a lifetime watching how far he had gone and knowing how helpless I was to help him." 

Dave Cocks, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Redcar RNLI, said: "Cee’s owner did exactly the right thing. She raised the alarm by dialling 999 and then stayed put.

"There have been too many tragedies where pet owners attempt a rescue and perish.

"More often than not the pet is rescued by the emergency services or gets to safety without any help at all. In these circumstances we always urge people to respect the water, stay out of the sea and raise the alarm."