A hapless stray dog was rescued after getting trapped in a 20ft-deep abandoned well for three days.

The brown pooch was searching for food around the vacant land when it slipped and fell on the abandoned well in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand on July 25.

For three days, the animal survived by drinking the water that had covered its body and came up to his neck before concerned locals discovered it upon hearing the dog cry.

A rescue team was called to the scene and carefully pulled the wary animal to the surface using a rope before it was checked for injuries.

Supachai Yap, one of the rescue volunteers, said: ‘The dog looked weak. I remember it struggling to push its body up to the surface just so it could breathe.’

The team members made a noose and threw it down to the bottom of the hole before hooking the animal’s body with it and successfully freeing the dog.

The rescue operation lasted for about 30 minutes. The pooch was uninjured but starving and dehydrated so it was given some food and fresh water.

A kind villager who offered to take care of the dog said they had been hearing it cry for three days but they could not find where it was.

She said: ‘We have been hearing it cry for three days but we could not find where it was. We decided to have a look at this area because of the well and the dog was there. We’re relieved it did not rain before we could find it.’