When dog Thea plunged over the edge of a 75 foot cliff in Falmouth her owners feared the worst.

Incredibly, the black pup had landed on a very small ledge, around 15 feet down – but was balanced precariously above a 60 foot drop below her onto West Bay at Maenporth.

It was then that the training of Falmouth Coastguard Rescue Team was put to full use, following a panicked 999 call.

One of the team’s rope rescue technicians was lowered over the edge of the cliff to the ledge, carefully encouraging Thea into a special animal rescue bag.

Both dog and rescuer were then pulled back to the top of the cliff.

A coastguard team spokesperson said: “Much to the relief of the owners, the dog was released, unharmed back into their care.

“The owners did exactly the right thing, by not attempting to rescue the dog themselves and called 999 and asked for coastguard.”