CHESTER the labrador thought her luck was in when she chased a rabbit into a pond.

But just as it seemed his number was up, the rabbit turned on his pursuer and climbed on to the labrador's back.

Two-year-old Chester then turned around and swam to the shore, allowing her passenger to alight and escape into a hedge.

The rabbit had been startled into the pond at Ravensworth Nurseries, in North Yorkshire, when Chester and her owner, Paul Marshall, were walking.

Mr Marshall, who works at the nurseries, said: "The rabbit was startled and didn't have anywhere to go and jumped into the pond.

"I've never seen a rabbit swim before and it was quite fast.

"Chester swam after it and as she got nearer the rabbit turned, but Chester couldn't turn quick enough, and the rabbit got on her back."

Chester got herself into trouble when she was only a year old after chasing a rabbit into a hedge.

She became entangled in barbed wire and cut her leg so badly that it needed 18 stitches and Mr Marshall feared she might lose it.

He said: "She's always chasing them, she's soft-mouthed so doesn't kill them but treats it as a game.

"But it's now the second time a rabbit's got the better of her."