A little dog that fell into Helston's boating lake and found itself unable to get out has been reunited with its relieved owner.

It is thought the Jack Russell may have escaped and mistakenly ran into the water at Coronation Park, where its scrabbling caught the attention of a passerby.

Seeing its plight he plucked the shivering creature from the chilly lake before his wife wrapped the dog in her coat.

They took the dog to the nearby Lakeside Cafe to warm up, before it was taken to Rosemullion Vets to be checked over.

Here it was discovered that the animal was microchipped, meaning the pet was reunited with its owner by the end of day.

Lois Rowntree, front of house manager at the cafe, said the rescue took place at the opposite end of the lake to the cafe, at around 11am.

She added that the dog had a misty eye and suggested that it may have had sight problems that led to it ending up in the water.

"I think he might have been blind and he had obviously fallen in then couldn't get out, because there's a bit of a ledge to get over.

"One of our regular customers fished him out and took him to the vet. He was really shivering; he just didn't really know what was going on," she added.

"At least he found his owner."

Happily the little dog was back home by the evening, with quite a shaggy dog story to tell.