Devon dog trapped underground for seven hours in 'smelly' sewer pipe

A dog spent seven hours trapped in an underground sewer pipe before he was rescued by fire crews in Devon. Spike the Jack Russell went missing from his owners' garden at around 3pm yesterday (8 June) and his owners eventually heard barking from a sewer pipe.Crews from Buckfastleigh Fire Station and Newton Abbot Fire Station came to free Spike.Fire crews used a snake eye camera in order to locate the dog who, after a three-hour search, was found wedged within the pipe about 45m from the pit entrance.According to Buckfastleigh Fire Station, Spike was unharmed but a little "smelly".

In a statement on Facebook, a spokesperson wrote: "Yesterday as we were on our way to a fire exercise at the South Devon Railway we were diverted to reports of a Jack Russell dog trapped within a sewer pipe."On arrival we were met by Spike's owners who said he had been missing from his garden since about 3pm and when searching they could hear him barking in the pipe.

"The officer in charge asked for our colleagues from Newton Abbot Fire Station to join us so we could utilise their snake eye camera to try and get a visual of how far and in which pipe he was stuck."The pipe system was approximately 100m long with many pipes joining at different points."Having put the camera down all the possible entry points and dug an inspection trench we found one more inspection pit in the middle of the field and it was here where we managed to see Spike wedged within the pipe about 45m from the pit entrance.

"Luckily Spike saw the light on the end of the camera as his way out in the dark and with some coaxing from his owners slowly but surely managed in inch his way backwards until he was able to be grabbed."Spike was unharmed after being trapped for over seven hours, a bit smelly and tired from his adventure but back with his family."