A dog has been rescued by volunteers after spending over 26 hours down an old mining shaft.

Terrier Suka went missing last weekend while out for a walk with her owner Ben Weston near St Ives.

She was off lead and ran off into some woods - but when she never returned her owners searched for her into the night and Monday morning.

Eventually, they came across a deep hole, and could hear their poor pup whimpering from inside.

An intense video filmed by Carbis Bay Crew - a volunteer group of cavers, divers, mine explorers and climbers - shows the extraordinary operation in action.

The footage also shows the moment the pup is reunited with her emotional owners.

Sam Perkins, a member of Carbis Bay Crew who was present at the rescue, said: "The fire brigade turned up first and then we did five minutes later.

"They assessed the situation and couldn't pick up any signs of life, so couldn't commit to sending anyone down.

"But as soon as they left, we could hear the dog yipping again - so I called up some other members to help get her out.

"We weren't exactly sure what we were standing on, but one of our crew got rigged up and went down.

Falmouth Packet: Suka is brought up through the old mine shaft in Cornwall Picture: Carbis Bay Crew / SWNSSuka is brought up through the old mine shaft in Cornwall Picture: Carbis Bay Crew / SWNS (Image: Carbis Bay Crew / SWNS)

"He could see miners had put timber across the shaft and put granite on top of that - but the timber had rotted out so the only thing holding it all up was some soil and granite compacting in on itself.

"Eventually we got the dog out and her owners were really chuffed - not all of our rescues have such a good ending unfortunately."

Suka is now reportedly safe and sound at home with her owners.