Teesdale and Weardale off-duty search dog finds injured man

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-28736661

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An off-duty search and rescue dog sniffed out an injured man who had fallen in a ditch near the River Tees.

Tony High was walking Isla the border collie in the Demenes area of Barnard Castle on Saturday when she disappeared into dense undergrowth near the water.

Mr High said she started to bark at him, the way she would on a mountain search, after finding the elderly man.

Rescue crews said the condition of the man would have been "much more serious" if she had not found him.

Paul Bell, Teesdale and Weardale Search and Rescue Team leader, said: "The gentleman was very confused and had sustained a head and chest injuries.

"I have no doubt that had Isla and Tony not found the gentleman away from the well trodden paths he would have been there for some considerable time, if not overnight, and he would have been in a much more serious condition than when he was found."

Isla became a member of Teesdale and Weardale Search and Rescue Team after completing her training in 2012.