An adventurous pooch learned his lesson when he had to be rescued by police after getting stuck behind a fence.

Ilford Recorder: Dougal the dog had to be rescued when he got stuck. Picture: Deborah ParryDougal the dog had to be rescued when he got stuck. Picture: Deborah Parry (Image: Archant)

Dougal, who is blind in one eye, was on a walk with Deborah Parry in Roding Valley Park on Thursday when he wandered a bit too far.

“I was calling him and I turned round and he wasn’t there – it was so quick,” Deborah said.

“He had managed to get through a nook in the chain link fence to the fishing area and he couldn’t figure out how to get back.”

She searched for the dog by the sound of his scratching for a desperate hour until she found him on the other side of the fence, but she couldn’t get to him.

Deborah, who was walking the cavalier King Charles spaniel for her mother, eventually called 101 and community police officer Carl Mumford came to the rescue.

He scaled the fence, picked up the very distressed Dougal and found the hole in the fence to get him back through.

Deborah, 33, said: “He picked up the dog but it was a bit risky because he could have tripped over. It was a bit of a rescue mission.”

She praised Pc Mumford for his quick work and “lovely” manner.

Deborah added: “You don’t want to come across as someone who calls the emergency services for this kind of thing but there was nothing else I could do. It makes such a big difference, it was community spirit.”