Hollie the dog had a remarkable escape after crawling 40 metres into a cold, dark, drain on Sunday. The nine-year-old La-Chon, a cross between a Bichon Frise and a Lhasa Apso, managed to force her way through a barricade at the back of the garden and ‘embark’ on an unapproved adventure.

Hollie, who is owned by Louise and John Black, of Shanklin, went missing around 3pm, but it wasn’t until about four hours later that the alert went out.

Louise said:

“We have a brook at the back of the garden and Hollie has recently taken to getting out and exploring where the drain is located.

“She got out a couple of weeks ago and was given a telling off, and we blocked her exit route. We didn’t know she had gone missing until John noticed a few hours later and we just panicked.

“A friend of ours contacted Simon Ledger, and Jamie Webster, from Island firm Renodrain, who came to our rescue.”

Ground searchers and a drone were also involved, and Jamie used a camera in the drain to see if there was a blockage.

He said:

“I crawled in on my hands and knees and shuffled along for around 10 metres, then the tunnel turned to the left and I was in the pitch black. I inched my way along and eventually could see Hollie’s eyes. She was scared and in the wet, but looked ok.

Once I was in there, I was never going to turn back. So, I carried on for another 30 metres and called her. Once I had hold of her, I moved backwards until we were finally out.”

Louise added:

“I can’t thank everyone enough; we were so worried about her. It was traumatic for everyone.”

Modest Simon said:

“I try to help out and just give something back to people.”