Puppy dies after being pulled from River Wear by lifeboat crew

Shortly before 8.30am, the Coastguard received a 999 call from a member of the public reporting that their Lurcher puppy had fallen into the River Wear close to Wearmouth Bridge

Sunderland Coastguard and the RNLI's inshore lifeboat were called to the scene.

Coastguard officers found the Lurcher puppy's owner and the dog was recovered from the water by the lifeboat crew.

It was taken back to Sunderland marina but efforts to revive it were unsuccessful.

Paul Nicholson, from Sunderland RNLI said: "Sadly, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, we were unable to save the puppy from drowning.

"Many of our volunteers have their own dogs at home and appreciate how upsetting it will be for the dog’s family who have tragically lost a young family pet’.