A fisherman was overjoyed when he was reunited with his pet pooch - after she was washed overboard while a mile out to sea.

Ned Bailey, 52, from Mylor, was out fishing with his 6-year-old collie Bleiz on Wednesday, January 25, when she disappeared.

Devoted owner Ned searched for over two-hours in vain, and had all but given up hope when he received a phone call from a vet on the Roseland.

The vet informed Ned that Bleiz had been found on a beach and that despite the rough seas and icy weather she had managed to swim for over an hour back to safety.

Ned, a retired fireman, was fishing for lobster and crab between Towan beach and Portscatho on the Roseland when Bleiz disappeared while Ned was making a cup of tea.

Distraught Ned searched the entire boat and came to the worrying conclusion that she must have slipped through the gap in the stern - used for launching fishing pots.

He quickly marked his location, and calculated the distance covered since he last saw Bleiz and began retracing his steps, but there was a huge expanse of sea to check - all with two to three foot swells.

After two hours Ned was becoming despondent and rang his wife, Angie Bailey, to tell her the bad news, when Ned received a call from Clifton Villa vets, informing Ned that Bleiz had been found safe, if a little exhausted, on the shore.

Bleiz had been found by a group of walkers, including Sarah Rundle, who took care of the dog and took her to a local vet, who was able to find Ned’s telephone number.

Ned said: "I was out fishing between Towan and Portscatho, and was putting out about five strings of pots, while Bleiz was in the wheel house.

"Then we were steaming out to the south and I went to make a cup of tea, I then went to give the dog some water and there was no dog.

"There was no sign of her so I marked my location and I turned around. The problem was there was about a mile from where I last knew she was, and where I noticed she went missing.

"When it's a nice day she'll jump off and swim the last bit, but that's only 50 yards. I thought she might have swum for land but there was two to three foot swells so she wouldn't have been able to see the land.

"A couple of hours in I was really worried and I was angry at myself for not being able to find her, so I rang my wife to tell her the news softly when another call came in, and it was from the Roseland.

"I phoned it back and they said 'I think we've got your dog'. This was about two and a half hours after she first went missing.

"The minimum distance she swam was 600m, if she swam directly to the shore, but I estimate that due to the conditions she would have swum between half a mile and three quarters.

"It was cold and she's quite lean, so she would have felt the cold.

"Some people walking on the Roseland had found her and she tagged along with them for a while, until they bumped into a friend called Sarah Rundle, who took Bleiz and called the vets.

"The vet told Sarah to leave her, and that she was probably just a farm dog that had escaped, but Sarah said that didn't feel right and took her to the local vet to see if she was chipped.

"When the vets were preparing to scan her they found my number stitched into her collar, and gave me a call.

"I was very relieved after a couple of hours I was worried we wouldn't be looking for a live dog."

Now Ned is cautious about a similar incident, and is installing a 'man over board' system to alert him if the devoted dog goes overboard again.

"She'd hate it if she didn't go fishing; she's so keen to get to the boat. I'm installing a system, and I've got a lifejacket for now.

"I'd like to thank my wife Angie, and my friends Emma and Ben who helped me search for her, and the fishermen John, Nigel and Shamus who looked out at sea.

"I'd also like to thank Sarah Rundle for her help; I really appreciate what she did for us."