A dog that survived a 12-foot fall into a soakaway drain and was rescued by Kent Fire and Rescue Service crews, is now safely back with her owner and miraculously has no injuries.

Yesterday afternoon (4 March) a long-haired terrier called Misty was enjoying a snowy walk in woodland on Bluebell Hill, near Robin Hood Lane in Chatham, when she entered a concrete pipe and didn’t come back out.

Two hours passed and the owner decided to call for help. KFRS deployed its specialist technical rescue crew.

On arrival, the crew manager crawled into the pipe and he came across a soakaway chamber. Misty had fallen from the pipe into the chamber, and he could hear her crying.

Crews found the drain opening, lowered a member of the team into the hole using a rope pulley system and managed to scoop the dog out.

She was checked over for injuries by Andy Parks, KFRS’ very own dog handler who looks after the services’ search and rescue puppy in training, Buzz.

Andy said: “It’s amazing that Misty came away from this incident without any injuries. It was a very rewarding rescue and I’m pleased she’s now safely back at home with her owner.”

This was a relatively simple rescue for the technical rescue team, which is trained to use specialist equipment capable of handling a range of major emergencies.

They attend the most complex and challenging incidents involving confined space working, technical and rope rescues from height, as well as life-threatening incidents such as road crashes involving heavy goods vehicles and building collapse.