'Miracle' rescue for family pet

Della plunged down the waterfall and into the river before being rescued

A dog that spent a night on a tiny ledge after plunging into a 50ft gorge has been rescued by firefighters despite being given up for dead.

Della, a six-year-old cocker spaniel, tumbled off a cliff, down a waterfall and through deep water in Alva Glen in Clackmannanshire on Wednesday.

As night fell both her owner and the fire crew stopped searching assuming she had not survived.

But the team returned to the spot on Thursday and found Della on the ledge.

Her owner, Allan Hogg had also gone back to the cliff to see if he could find the dog at about 0700 BST on Thursday.

He told the firefighters from Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service that he had spotted her perched about two feet above the water on a small piece of rock.

David Dawson, Red Watch crew manager at Alloa Fire station, said: "The dog had fallen into the river, gone down a waterfall and had somehow miraculously managed to get onto the river bank and was on a ledge about two or three feet up from the river.

"One of the guys managed to abseil down about 50ft. We could see the dog was alive but was really scared.

"When we got to her, she seemed in good health so we were able to hoist her back up the ledge."

Once reunited with her owner, Della was able to walk home unaided to Alva where she is said to be in good spirits.