A dog owner has paid tribute to Dart RNLI volunteers after she was rescued with her pet after the pair were stranded on a river bank.

Felicity Bellamy was walking with three-year-old Lucca in woods near Old Mill Creek on October 26 when the working Cocker Spaniel left the path and scrambled down to the river shore some 20 feet below.

Felicity, from Blackawton, who knows the woods well after walking in the area for the last ten years, soon realised something was wrong.

She said: “I called out to Lucca and heard him below,’ she said. ‘

“I guessed he must have fallen down to the shoreline on the beach and couldn’t get back up. It was quite a steep drop.

“I thought if I could get down to his level I would be able to help him back up the bank, so I slid down on the roots and picked him up.

“I soon realised there was no way I was going to be able to get back up the bank. I walked along the shoreline but it was sheer rock.

“I got as far as the boundary with the Naval College and saw the no entry sign and “live explosives” and that’s when I realised I needed help.”

Felicity, a keen RNLI supporter, fund raiser and donation collector since childhood, knew the correct procedure and called the Coastguard.

They alerted the Dart lifeboat station and the Atlantic B Class and then the D Class, helmed by Tatty Pettigrew and crewed by Nigel Viles and Sam Smale, were tasked to help.

“It was all pretty quick,” added Felicity.

“Thank God the tide was not coming in or it could have been far worse. I didn’t want to risk climbing the bank and breaking my leg or something so I called for help.

“The RNLI crew were so efficient and the helm was very good at putting me at my ease.

“She went the extra mile and it was very reassuring.

“They were all very kind and not critical.

“Lucca had a lovely time waiting for the boat digging on the beach and getting covered in mud.

“He thought the whole thing was planned for him.

“He loved the ride back to Dartmouth where he was given a treat and I had a cup of tea.”

Helm Tatty said: “Felicity did exactly the right thing.

“There is nothing to be gained by taking chances and risking injury.

“As always, we were very happy to attend and help Felicity and Lucca from a situation which could have become more difficult.”

Dart RNLI is one of the busiest lifeboat stations in Devon, on call to emergencies in the Dart Estuary all the way up to Totnes and out to sea.

Facing fast-moving water, constant traffic on the river, a tidal estuary, and coastal conditions like swell and exposure to the elements, the lifeboat crew respond to all kinds of rescues.

It operates a D-class (IB1) inshore lifeboat, and a B-class (Atlantic 85) inshore lifeboat.