COASTGUARDS have saved a dog that was stranded on the East Cliff for three hours this afternoon. 

A rescue operation took place on the cliff top opposite Meyrick Road to rescue the dog from the cliff ledge after it had climbed around 150 feet.

Volunteers from Southbourne Coastguard worked hard to coax the beagle to safety, while its owner called its name, Duke, to encourage it to move. 

Naomi Rasdall, the dog's owner, said: "We've taken him for walks here before and he's never climbed this high up.

"He must have been after a rabbit. He scrambled up the cliff and when he couldn't find a way to get down again, he just climbed higher and higher.

Miss Rasdall, from Southbourne, said she had been waiting over three hours for Duke to come down. 

Eventually, he found the courage to walk up to where the coastguard was waiting to carry him to safety.

Allan Norman, the senior coastal operations officer for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said: "These volunteers have worked very hard to rescue this dog today.

"We do deal with a number of these incidents. We usually get called either here or Hengistbury Head. 

"Our priority is making sure the dog owners don't put their own lives at risk trying to rescue their dogs. 

"Our cliff rescue team rescue dogs frequently. It's the bread and butter of their work," he added.