Firefighters were called to help rescue a dog who had fallen into an outside swimming pool and had got caught up in the pool cover.

The incident took place in Church Road, Corringham, at about 9am this morning and one unit was dispatched to help the stranded pet.

Axel, the large Alsatian, had suffered a fit and was unable to use his back legs so was unable to get out himself.

Fire crews managed to pull the dog to safety and got it back onto dry land by 9:30am.

The dog was left in the care of its owners and vet.