What should have been a normal walk in the park turned into an emergency incident after a dog had to be rescued after getting stuck in a drug den littered with needles.

The owners called the police at about 1.30pm yesterday (Monday) when Molly, a three-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, became trapped for several hours between two concrete slabs in Wandle Park, Colliers Wood.

After chasing a fox which ran into a hole in an abandoned garage – which has become a drug den for heroin users and is full of discarded needles, Molly got her shoulders stuck and could not be simply pulled out again.

After the RSPCA was unable to help, two Metropolitan police dog handlers and a crew from Wimbledon fire station was despatched to dig underneath the concrete to create a gap for the dog to escape.

Steve Burchell, one of two Met Police dog handlers who work across south-west London, said: “This is the first time I’ve ever seen a dog get trapped in this way and luckily he escaped without any injuries.

“When we got there the owner and two young lads had dug under the garage quite a bit and created a big hole.

“We tried to go under the garage and my legs were hanging out but we still couldn’t reach the dog.

"The fox was still loitering around when we were there at 6pm.

“The fire brigade ended up doing the same as us but they had better tools and luckily were able to get the dog out by 9am.

“We took Molly to the vet afterwards but, apart from being traumatised, she had no injuries.”

A London Fire Brigade spokesman urged people to keep a close eye on their pets and to call the RSPCA rather than dial 999.

He added: “Although in this case the brigade was called as a last resort, we would urge people to remember that animal rescues take up the precious time of our firefighters, who could otherwise be attending real emergencies.

“That said, we don’t want people putting themselves at risk to save an animal.”

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