DIGGORY the dog has been hailed as a lifesaver after he came to the rescue of a cat which was on the brink of dying from hypothermia.

The Labrador found the ginger cat shivering by the edge of High Rid Reservoir in Lostock and stood over it, refusing to move, until his owner, Tim Livesey, came over.

It is believed the cat had fallen into the reservoir, become trapped underneath ice and somehow managed to drag itself out of the water.

The cat was so exhausted it was unable to move and, if it had not been for Diggory, it would have lain there unnoticed and died.

Mr Livesey, aged 35, of Shrewsbury Road, Heaton, said: "On the way out from the reservoir, Diggory spotted something down by the side of the water. He just would not leave it until I had gone over. He did not bark at it -- he just wouldn't leave it. When I went over, I saw it was a cat."

Mr Livesey picked up the cat and fellow dog walkers helped to wrap it up in a jacket.

He took it to the Bolton Destitute Animal Shelter in Northolt Drive, Great Lever, as it did not appear to belong to anyone local.

Mr Livesey got Diggory, aged three, from the shelter last year. If nobody claims the cat in seven days, Mr Livesey says he will adopt it. The cat is making a good recovery.

Zoe Orchard, deputy manager at the shelter, said: "The cat is a ginger domestic short-haired cat. Her teeth aren't so good, so she's probably eight years old or more.

"She's doing very well now she is warm and dry. She looks like she has been well cared for before her ordeal.

"It is unusual for a dog to save a cat.

"Diggory is a lifesaver."

The Destitute Animal Shelter can be contacted on 01204 526486.