Factory worker saved by dogs after slipping into diabetic coma

They say dogs are a man's best friend - and that was certainly the case for one factory worker in China, whose loyal pets saved his life when he slumped into a diabetic coma.

Lao Yanzhi, who took his dogs with him to work, was covering the overnight shift at a unit in Shenyang when he collapsed into a hypoglycemic coma as temperatures plunged to below -10C (14F).

He lay unconscious on the freezing ground for 10 hours, and was found at 6am the following morning by his colleagues who spotted Mr Yanzhi's faithful friends - all of whom he had raised since they were puppies - lying next to him.

Doctors say without the warmth of the dogs staving off the biting winter air, Mr Yanzhi would have died.

Instead, he managed to escape relatively unscathed, aside from severe frostbite to his hands which were gloveless and had turned black from direct contact with the ground.

Mr Yanzhi is now recovering in hospital.