Fire crews rescue burrowing dogs

It took six hours to free the two lost pets from the underground burrow

Fire crews mounted a six-hour rescue operation to find two Jack Russell terriers that became lost in an underground burrow in West Sussex.

Teams used special listening and camera equipment to find the two pets, called Charlie and Rosi, on Tuesday.

They were eventually found in two separate locations in a burrow in Whitemans Green, Cuckfield - Charlie ended up 5ft (1.52m) underground.

Owner Rachel Hartshorn said they saw the woods, got overexcited and ran off.

'Couldn't resist woods'

Ms Hartshorn, from Southwick, who was visiting a friend in Cuckfield at the time, said: "I'm normally quite cautious when walking the dogs because I've lost them once before.

"But they just couldn't resist the sight of the woods and nearby stream, so I let them off their leads so they could enjoy themselves."

She added that she was reluctant to call the fire service but crews were fantastic and she would not have had a chance of finding her dogs without them.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said permission had to be sought from Natural England to dig in the burrows near Haywards Heath.

Rosi was rescued at about 1750 BST, and Charlie was found nearly two hours later.

Both dogs were recovering at home on Wednesday. Rosi needed treatment for conjunctivitis caused by her ordeal.

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Charlie and Rosi were freed from the underground burrow after six hours of digging (Pictures from West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service)