ONE man and his dog could be the difference between life and death.

Dave Marsh and cross-breed collie Chi have just become a man-and-dog mountain rescue team.

Their task will be to search moorland and mountain sides for lost people. The dad-of-two has just finished a tough course to become one of only 35 search and rescue pairs in England.

And Dave, of Strawberry Hill Road, The Haulgh, Bolton, does not get a penny for his efforts.

He has to juggle the demands of hill-top rescues, in all weathers, with running his own landscape gardening business.

The 48-year-old said: "My wife and family have been incredibly supportive.

"In fact one of my daughters has been a volunteer 'lost' victim for us to practise rescuing.

"I suppose it only gets difficult on my time when I have a course like this one.

"It was really tough, and it exhausted Chi.

"His name is Chinese for energy because he's got loads of it.

"But he was so tired after the course, he fell asleep stood up leaning against my leg."

20-month-old Chi is such a bright dog, the human-animal pair managed to tackle a course that should have taken two years in just 10 months.

Dave has been a volunteer for Bolton Mountain Rescue Team for four years.

He could now be called to anywhere in the country.

The current dog rescue team in Bolton has already recently helped in a search for a murder victim in Newport, South Wales.

It costs between £3,000 and £4,000 to train and keep each dog team and Bolton Mountain Rescue are looking for sponsors. I

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