A DOG plunged 250ft from the edge of a cliff after chasing a rabbit while on holiday – and lived to tell the tale.
Golden retriever Sam was on a holiday break with his owner, Jonathan Minshull, and his family, in Devon, when disaster struck.
The family, from Derbyshire, were walking along a grassy cliff edge near Sidmouth when Sam spotted a rabbit and gave chase – straight off the edge of the cliff.
But miraculously the eight-year-old much-loved pet survived the plunge – after a cushioned landing on some gorse bushes helped to break his fall.
Sam was winched to safety by member of the local search and rescue team and reunited with his frantic owner.
Jonathan, 38, said that initially he did not even realise that Sam had gone missing because the group had been posing for some photographs.
He said: "He was there one minute and the next he was gone.
"At first we thought he'd run into a field which was near the path.
"We were searching in the field for him, it didn't cross my mind for one second that he might have jumped off a cliff!"
The Minshulls, who were also walking with friends, hunted for Sam for around an hour, frantically calling his name, before one member of the party went down to the beach and finally spotted the dog on a ledge halfway up the cliff face.
Jonathan said: "I was in Sidmouth visiting my friend, Simon Price, for his 40th birthday and it wasn't until Simon went down on the beach and looked up the cliff that he saw Sam on the side of the cliff.
"His fall had been broken by some gorse bushes."
Jonathan said he could not believe it when he saw that Sam was on his feet and moving around on the ledge.
He said: "When I saw he was moving around on the cliff I was amazed.
"I imagine he was barking but I couldn't hear him barking because he was too far away.
"I was actually quite relieved when I saw him on the cliff because at least I knew where he was.
"I dialled 999 and the fire service turned up really quickly."
A fire crew from Sidmouth and a specialist rescue team from Devon and Somerset Fire Service's headquarters were sent to the scene to help rescue Sam.
When they arrived they assessed the situation and set up safety cordons.
Then a member of the rescue team was winched down the cliff to rescue Sam, who by that time had been stuck on the ledge for about four hours.
Mr Minshull said that following the incident Sam was miraculously unscathed, apart from being thirsty and tired.
He said: "When he was pulled up over the cliff he was really happy to see us – he just wanted to get back to the campsite to cool down."
Mr Minshull said Sam was a much-loved family pet whom the family had owned since he was a puppy.
He said: "My kids adore Sam. He's just a big, daft dog. He's got a heart of gold."
Sidmouth crew commander Jack Burgess said it is not always practical to keep dogs on leads but owners should try to keep their pets in sight at all times while walking along the cliffs.
