A SHEEP had to be rescued after falling into a flooded underground cavern in Swallowcliffe.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to Barbers Lane at around 7.40pm yesterday after Helen Roberts discovered a strange hole in the ground while she was out on a walk.  

The fire service says after creating a contraption with her mobile phone and torch, Helen recorded some footage and was shocked to see the poor sheep stuck down there and called for help. 

The technical rescue team from Poole Fire Station and the on-call firefighters from Shaftesbury Fire Station responded to the incident and were able to rescue the sheep. 

A spokesperson for the fire service said: "We were called to Barbers Lane in Swallowcliffe at 7.41pm, the sheep had fallen approximately 20ft down into a partially flooded underground cavern.

"One crew from Shaftesbury attended, together with the technical rescue team from Poole, and they were able to set up a safe system to allow access to the cavern and the wherewithal to pull the sheep to safety."

The incident was dealt with by 10.15pm and the sheep had been “recovered safe and well and now happily eating grass”.