11-year-old sheep dog stuck underground in pipe at Northamptonshire farm rescued by firefighters

A fire crew was called to a four-legged rescue at a Northamptonshire farm after a sheep dog became trapped in a drainage pipe.

Firefighters were called to a farm outside Wappenham, near Towcester just before 7pm on Monday (March 6) as 11-year-old Trim, who was referred to by the farmer as his “right-hand dog”, was stuck underground in a drainage pipe.

Trim went missing on Sunday (March 5) at around 3pm to 4pm. Farmers Ben and Gemma Hinton said as a working sheep dog Trim would often roam around the yard and farm but it was when Ben went to feed her that he realised she was not in her kennel where she would normally go.

The family searched the surrounding area but she was not found.

On Monday, Gemma heard a muffled whimper in the yard but could not work out where it was coming from. One of the farm’s other dogs – Winnie the Labrador – went to the start of the drain and stood there wagging her tail, which is when the owners realised where Trim was.

The neighbouring farmer worked with Ben and Gemma to try and free Trim, but they were unable to do so the fire service was called to “help dig through the thick mud and silt”.

A Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said: “Firefighters, working alongside the farmer, provided additional lighting in the yard and used small tools and shovels to gain access to the drain and locate the sheep dog.

“The dog was found to be approximately one metre underground trapped inside a plastic drainage pipe.

“The dog, an 11-year-old working sheepdog called Trim, was released from the drain and reunited with the farmer and his family.

“Firefighters left the scene at shortly after 8.00pm.”

A “muddy Trim” was uninjured, albeit a bit stiff from being in the drain for so long. She was safely reunited with her owners, who treated her to a good bath and a sleep in the house, before she returned to working in the fields today (March 7).