A heartwarming video has emerged from the UK of a sheep drowning in the River Thames being rescued by kayakers.

The footage, shot on Sunday, shows the two good samaritans encountering the sheep stuck in the muddy water and deciding to help the animal out.

''We were paddling the River Thames near Oxford and came across a drowning sheep. It was struggling to keep its head above water and was clearly exhausted,'' one of the kayakers wrote later online.

''We dragged it onto the bank but it was unable to stand up. The water was cold and the sheep was suffering from hypothermia after being in the river for hours.''

''There was no farmer or farmhouse in sight and nothing else we could do other than leave it in the sun to dry out and hopefully recover,'' he continued.

We were paddling the River Thames near Oxford and came across a drowning sheep. It was struggling to keep its head above water and was clearly exhausted. We dragged it onto the bank but it was unable to stand up. The water was cold (October) and the sheep was suffering from hypothermia after being in the river for hours. There was no farmer or farmhouse in sight and nothing else we could do other than leave it in the sun to dry out and hopefully recover. It had no chance in the river and was close to drowning but at least it had a chance on dry land..