A stray dog was rescued after falling into a 10ft-deep drain in Thailand.

Locals heard the pooch whimpering inside the narrow hole next to a pond in Phayao province on March 12.

They immediately called the emergency services and animal rescuers arrived with a wooden ladder and basket to reach into the drain.

The team attached the basket to a long rope before asking the locals to hand it down to him while he climbed down the narrow hole that could only fit one person.

Upon reaching the bottom, the rescuer calmed the animal down before placing it inside the basket attached to the rope.

The people on top then pulled the basket and the dog was finally freed from the drain. The rescue operation to save the brown stray pooch took only 15 minutes.

One of the locals said: ‘We were walking to our house when we heard the dog crying from somewhere but its voice sounded muffled like it was coming from under the ground.

‘We knew there was an unfinished drain nearby so we checked and found the animal below. We could not reach inside so we called the rescuers for help.’

The dog was given fresh water and some food before it was taken back to the village where it was adopted by one of the residents.