The dog who fell down a 330 foot cliff in North Yorkshire - and lived to tell the tale

A brave cocker spaniel lived to tell the tail (!) and is very lucky to be alive, after plunging 330ft off Brotton cliffs.Ellie was walking with her owner when she fell over the edge of the cliff face - and tumbled straight down to the beach at the bottom.

Her frantic owner, Richard, who traveled to the coast for a walk from Leeds, alerted Staithes Coastguard and a search and rescue operation started, together with volunteers from the lost dog Trapping Team.

Ellie - who is 6 - was missing for 24 agonising hours before she was finally found.

Richard says he saw her on the edge of the cliff, but when he turned back around again - she'd gone."I couldn't believe how close the edge was and it had a sheer drop."

"I walked away and said 'come on'," he said. "They follow, that's what you do. She would have, normally, but I looked back and she wasn't there.

"It was absolute dread. I had images of her drowning and finding her body on the beach."

A passerby put out an appeal on Facebook and a volunteer trapping team together with the coastguard came to help.Richard spent a sleepless night in his car at Skinningrove and then at 11.30am, he got a call from a lady.

"She was called Alice, she was visiting from Dorset and she said 'I've got your dog'.

"It was total elation, pure joy. And enormous amounts of gratitude. What could have been a devastating situation turned into an absolutely inspiring one, with the help and support from the coastguard and volunteers."

Ellie was checked over by the vet and Richard was told she'd managed to escape with just a few cuts and bruises.

Richard said: "I have been totally blown away by people’s kindness and support. I’ve had wonderful messages from friends and incredible support from total strangers.

"If only Ellie new what had been going on!  But she is totally back to normal now and is currently staring at me wanting her tea."