Dog rescued after getting trapped under bus

Daisy the Labrador had a very lucky escape after she ran out in front of a bus, leaving her trapped and needing the emergency assistance of West Sussex firefighters.

Firefighters from Chichester Fire Station and the retained crew at East Wittering were mobilised to Main Road at Birdham at around 8pm on Sunday evening.

Upon arrival they found Daisy trapped underneath the single decker bus and immediately got to work trying to rescue her.

East Wittering Watch Commander Steve Pearce said: “The dog had run out in front of the bus, and hadn’t given the driver a chance to stop. “By the looks of it she hit the front of the bus and then rolled underneath it. Luckily she didn’t roll underneath the wheel as that would have a been a very different outcome.

“But as the bus is so low to the ground, and being quite a large dog she was pinned down and couldn’t move. We could see her eyes were open, but she couldn’t move and wasn’t making any noise. We were very surprised to see that she was still alive after her ordeal, but it meant we had to work quickly to get her out and ensure she received the medical attention that she needed.

“Both of our fire engines are fitted with high pressure air bags, which we can inflate at a controlled rate to raise a vehicle off the ground. This allowed us to gently lift the front of the bus up so that we could get in underneath and bring Daisy to safety.

“She had a few nasty cuts and scratches and was clearly feeling rather battered after her ordeal. She had a blue light escort to the emergency vets thanks to our colleagues at Sussex Police who ensured she was well looked after. We later heard this morning that she is recovering well.

“She had an incredibly lucky escape.”

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Called out to assist East Wittering and Chichester fire crew from West Sussex Fire & Rescue rescued a labrador from under a bus. After using air bags and blocks enough space was created to successfully rescue the animal, who was then carefully placed in a police car and taken to a vet for a check up.