WINCHESTER firefighters rescued a puppy from certain death on a bridge over the motorway.

The dog, only about three months old, had become separated from its female owner and scampered onto a ledge on a footbridge over the M3 near Gordon Avenue, Highcliffe.

In its panic it had edged to a point where it was about 30 feet above the carriageway.

Watch manager Chris Roper, of North Walls fire station, said: “The owner was walking her little puppy off lead and there is a break in the fence and it has run down a six-inch wide ledge outside of the railings quite a way over the bridge.

“She has grabbed it to stop it falling, a 30-foot drop. If the dog had fallen, with all the traffic, it could have caused a major accident.

“We managed to man handle the dog over the railings. It took about ten minutes. The owner, who had only just got the dog, was very grateful.”

The drama happened at about 6pm on Thursday.

WM Roper said it was lucky that the design of the bridge made the rescue quite simple, otherwise the fire service would have closed off the M3.