A lamb caught up to its neck in a muddy pond was minutes away from drowning before he was hauled to safety in a joint rescue operation.
The young sheep had been trapped for several days in the dried-up watercourse on farmland near Brass Castle Lane in Marton near Middlesbrough.
With the pond having turned into a thick quagmire in the soaring heat, the initial attempts to rescue the animal had come to nothing on the evening of August 7.
The stricken animal was proving hard to reach as he was trapped on a far bank underneath the overhang of a tree.
He was struggling to keep his head above the surface of the muddy water as RSPCA inspector Steph Baines tried to take hold of him with a reach and rescue pole.
Steph called for assistance from Cleveland Fire and Rescue Service, who mobilised an underwater rescue team.
A raft was placed across the mud and a fire officer reached across to the sheep, placed him in a sling and pulled him on board.
Read more: Leaving your kids home alone? These are the ages NSPCC say is old enough
The rescue comes as the RSPCA launches its Cancel Out Cruelty fund-raising campaign during a peak in calls fielded by the animal charity during the summer months.
Steph, who made her way to the pond with a dog walker who had raised the alarm, said: “Even though he was a lamb, he was still quite big and he was stuck fast.
“I tried applying the hook of the pole around his neck, but because of the angle I was reaching out it was too tight and I realised he would have been hurt.
"We needed to find another way to get to him.
"Thankfully, we had the help of the fire service’s specialist water rescue team.
“Two of the fire officers went on board, one to steady the raft, while the other managed to get the sling underneath the lamb’s neck.
“As soon as we got him to dry land I got him into the kennel.
"He didn’t put up much of a fight, the poor thing, as he was shattered.
"I then phoned a local vet to get him checked over.”
Fortunately, despite the length of his muddy confinement, the lamb was fit and healthy enough to be released soon after.
Steph said: “The lamb was exhausted and filthy, but otherwise okay.
"We tried hosing him down, although we didn’t want to get him too wet, so he’ll certainly stand out when he’s back with the flock.
"But there was no doubt he was happy to be out.
“To be honest we got to him just in time as it was going dark. I was having to hold my pole under his chin to keep his head above the water - he had sunk so far he was breathing bubbles in the mud.
“The fire officers did a great job and we’d like to thank the walker too for taking the time and trouble to make contact with us so this poor creature could be rescued.”
The inspector has spoken to the farmer, whose land the pond is on, after another sheep was found in the mud this week and he has pledged to undertake repairs to fencing.
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