This is the heartwarming moment a rescue team saved a dog trapped between rocks on a hillside in Thailand.

Locals notified the rescue team after hearing a dog howling from the cliff in Lopburi province on October 15 afternoon. The villagers said the dog was heard from within the gaps in the rocks.

Upon arrival, the rescue team members used a rope to rappel down the 10-metre-deep crevice while other officers stood by and waited to pick up the stranded pooch.

Volunteer animal rescuer Boonsong Sangthong said: ‘Getting hold of the dog was difficult as it was narrow, dark and wet. Most importantly, the dog was frightened so it ran to the deepest point of the gap and just kept on crying.’

The rescuers continued searching in the dark for more than two hours before they finally spotted the dog’s tail. The team then wrapped duct tape around its mouth to keep it from biting, and brought it up to safety.

The six-month-old male puppy was slightly injured, with a bleeding wound on its right hind leg. Authorities believe that the dog slipped and fell into the cliff while waiting for food from tourists.

Officials treated the dog’s injury and gave it up for adoption to one of the tourists.