A DOG and its owner had to be rescued after becoming stuck at the base of a cliff in Barton on Sea in the early hours of Boxing Day.

Coastguard rescue teams from Southbourne and Lymington were tasked by the National Maritime Operations centre at 12.38am.

They were initially called to reports of a dog stuck on a cliff.

A spokesperson from Southbourne Coastguard Rescue team said: “Once on scene it became clear that the owner was at the base of cliff near the mud flats and the shoreline.

“A cliff rescue technician was deployed to rescue the dog whilst a team relocated to Chewton Bunny to deploy a search team to locate the owner and recover him back to a place of safety.

“The search team found the dog owner and recovered him back to our vehicle at Chewton Bunny where he was assessed.”

The spokesperson added: “It was fortunate that it was not high tide and the dog owner had done the sensible thing and not tried to go across the mud flats. We then reunited the dog (Zak the Terrier) with its very grateful owner.”