Labrador rescued from icy Northumberland river

A dog has been rescued after falling through ice on a river in Northumberland.

Hardy the labrador had a lucky escape when he was rescued from a freezing river by the RSPCA and Northumberland Fire and Rescue Services.

See also: Puppy survives three days lost in freezing Richmond Park

See also: Woman risks life to rescue dog swept out to sea

After getting trapped for an hour in the frozen River Wansbeck at Black Close Bank in Ashington, the dog was pulled from the water by RSPCA Inspector Jacqui Miller.

Helmet cam footage shows Miller working her way across the icy river, using a pick to get to Hardy who was clinging to the edge of the ice with his paws.

Miller said they were very worried about Hardy because he head been stuck in the water for so long.

"He had been out with his dog walker when he had run into the river not realising that the minus six degree weather we've had recently had frozen the water," said Miller.

"His dog walker told us he's so used to paddling in the river and the sea that he just bounded off hoping for a little swim."

Hardy escaped with just a small cut to his paw. See the heartwarming rescue in the video above.