It was a real-life miracle for Woody the sprocker spaniel, who fell from a 150ft cliff and lived to wag his tail.

Woody disappeared during a dog walk with his owners along a coastal path near Dannonchapel, north Cornwall.

They spent more than 24 hours searching for him, but were eventually forced to give up.

Speaking about their ordeal, owner Jon said: “It was absolutely horrendous. We were devastated because he’s only nine months old and we had no idea that we were ever going to see him again.”

Then two days later, a passer-by heard the sound of a dog barking in a bay below the cliff, and alerted a local farmer who used a drone to investigate.

Woody went missing for three days before he was found ( Image: RNLI/Tom Dale)

The pair spotted Woody trapped inside a steep-sided cove and quickly raise the alarm.

A volunteer crew from the Port Isaac RNLI promptly attended the scene, navigating their lifeboat through a large swell to reach the cove, where they were able to successfully rescue Woody.

Crew member Ben Spicer said: “Woody gave us a good run around to start off with as he was understandably distressed, cold, tired and hungry.

“It felt fantastic to get Woody out of there and back to his owners. I can only imagine how horrid it must have felt not knowing his circumstances over those days.”

The nine-month-old pup was returned inland to Port Isaac, where he was checked over by dog first aider Jenny Pickles from Cornwall Search Dogs.

Jenny then took him to be reunited with his owners in Wadebridge later that day.

Jon said: “We felt sick to the stomach going back without Woody. Then we had a phone call telling us that a dog had been heard barking down a cliff.

“Words can’t express how delighted and overjoyed we were. When we first saw him, he was so shell-shocked we had to sit calmly with him on the tailgate and just stroke him.

“The whole thing is a miracle: it’s amazing that he survived the fall, the couple of nights alone and that he was rescued. How on earth?”

Jon commended the RNLI for their hard work in rescuing Woody and said “we can’t thank the RNLI crew enough”.

He continued: “We’ve always donated to the RNLI. I’ve been a Shoreline member for years and when my wife’s father died, we donated as well, never knowing that we would need them to rescue our dog.”

Praising the multi-agency effort in saving Woody, volunteer Ben added: “It was a great team effort with multiple organisations involved, Cornwall Search Dogs, DogLost Cornwall, Boscastle CG and the RNLI all working harmoniously and achieving a positive outcome.

“It could have very easily gone the other way for Woody.”

The RNLI recommends pet owners keep dogs on a lead when walking close to cliff edges or fast-flowing rivers.

They also warned not to follow a dog if it enters water or becomes stuck in mud, but instead to move to a place the dog can reach safely and call them.