The owner of a slightly-blind dog has vowed to always keep his pet on a lead from now on after it had to be rescued from Whitstable Harbour.

Owner Simon O’Brien was out for a walk with Skippy, a 12-year-old border collie, when he plunged off the harbour wall and into soft mud for around 20 minutes at 6pm on Sunday evening.

After calling the emergency services, Mr O’Brien climbed down a ladder in an attempt to rescue his pet and managed to get Skippy onto the stern of a fishing boat, moored in the south-west corner of the harbour.

But after struggling to then get himself out of the waist-high mud, Mr O’Brien had to be rescued by police, who pulled the 23-year-old to safety with the help of members of the public.

He said: “It’s not what I expected when I took him for a walk.

“I was taking him through the harbour, looked behind and he had gone. I thought he would be fine but he took a 10-foot plunge into the mud – it was lucky he didn’t hit a boat.”

Once Mr O’Brien was pulled to safety, coastguard teams from Sheppey and Herne Bay then went to the aid of stranded Skippy, who suffers from cataracts in one eye.

Team member Tim Judge climbed down onto the boat before placing the dog in a bag and hauling him back to the top of the quay.

Mr O’Brien – who works part-time at Kent Cycle Hire – was checked over by ambulance crews to rule out hypothermia, but although covered in mud, both he and his pet were unhurt.

The nearby Whitstable lifeboat station was then opened up so the pair could clean themselves up.

Mr O’Brien, who lives in Pier Avenue in Tankerton, added: “I’m very grateful to everyone who helped.

“I will keep him on a lead all the time now.

“He’s fine normally but he was spooked and misjudged everything – he’s usually a very well behaved dog.

“We had a stressful time of it and I feel very guilty that they had to come out for me but everyone was absolutely fantastic.”