Terrier survives cliff plunge

7:11pm Tuesday 9th January 2007

WHEN David Sneap saw his beloved dog Bella disappear off a cliff edge and plunge 200ft he feared the worst - but miraculously she survived unscathed.

Mr Sneap had been walking his Staffordshire Bull Terrier along a cliff edge in Whitby, North Yorkshire, at high tide.

When 18-month-old Bella went too close to the cliff edge to chase seagulls the earth gave way beneath her feet.

Mr Sneap could only watch in horror as the family pet bounced down the sheer drop before landing on rough grass at the foot of the cliff at Hawsker Bottoms, near Whitby.

Without a mobile phone, Mr Sneap ran to a nearby cottage to call for help.

Coastguard teams from Robin Hood's Bay and Whitby were called to the scene just before 5pm and had to drive through farmer's fields in their 4x4 vehicles to gain access to the isolated spot.

The coastguards used the headlights from cars to locate Bella and abseiled down the rescue her.

Frightened Bella was carried to safety by coastguard Angie Nugent in her boiler suit.

Mr Sneap said: "I wanted to let her off her lead so she could have a run.

"When I saw her disappear over the edge I thought that was the last I would see of her.

"She bounced down the cliff edge like a ball of rubber.

"I'm shocked she survived. No one can quite believe it there is nothing wrong with her.

Mr Sneap heaped praise on the volunteer coastguards who rescued the family pet.

"The rescue seemed to take an age.

"The ordeal was about three hours from beginning to end.

"I was disorientated with it being pitch black," he said.

Mr Sneap's, wife, Audrey, said while the rescue was under way she was in a panic not knowing whether the pet was dead or injured.

She said: "I was waiting to hear of broken limbs at the very least.

"She's got a little bit of a fat lip and was a bit red and sore underneath but by Saturday she was back to normal."

Mrs Sneap said she can understand people's concern about Bull Terrier type dogs but wanted to assure people it depends how they are brought up.

A spokesman for Whitby Coastguard said they have rescued a number of animals from the cliffs in the Whitby area which have survived.

This includes the rescue of one dog close to where Bella fell.

He said: "If it had been a sheer drop she would have been gone.

"The best thing is to keep dogs on a lead."

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