A lurcher was brought back from the dead after being fished from freezing seas by lifeboat crew members.

Stevie has been named after the crew member who saved her from a chilly fate in the North Sea earlier this week.

The Hartlepool lifeboat was launched when a passer-by spotted Stevie struggling against choppy seas off the coast, at Horden, east Durham.

The dog had spent almost an hour in the water before the boat was called out.

When she was plucked from the water, the freezing animal seemed to have given up. Crew member Steve Dunnett was struggling to find a pulse and the dog had to be revived with oxygen.

After being given the gas, she was taken to Clifton Lodge Veterinary Surgery, in Hartlepool, where staff say she is expected to make a full recovery.

Mr Dunnett said: "Someone had seen her run on to the beach and go into the sea but had not seen her come back out, and alerted us.

"When we found her she was face down and lifeless. We did ponder for a moment if it would be better for the owners' sake if we did not find her.

"However, as I pulled her out of the water I heard a murmur so I rubbed her stomach and she drew breath.

"We gave her some oxygen to try and get some air into her lungs and brought her back to shore.

"As a bit of a giggle, some of the lads decided to name her after me. What we do is not heroic. we do it because we enjoy it. It is just nice to have a good result."

When the dog, believed to be aged under one, was taken to the vet she was unconscious and hypothermic.

Val Monck, senior nurse at the practice, said yesterday: "She is still very nervous, but she is doing fine and has started to get her appetite back."

It is hoped that Stevie's owners will come forward after seeing her picture in The Northern Echo.

If not, one of the lifeboat crew has volunteered to give her a home.