HUMAN mole Alan Harrison dug for three hours after Lucky the dog got trapped underground.

Alan tunnelled so deep into the side of the hill using shovels and pickaxe that the ground became unstable.

He even chopped down a tree over the hole in Little Lever in the frantic rescue bid.

But, as the area became unsafe and dusk fell, his wife Tess eventually called Farnworth fire brigade to help find the lost animal.

After EIGHT hours stuck down the rabbit hole near Ladyshore, Little Lever, the five-year-old poodle crossbreed re-emerged wagging her tail.

Tess, of nearby Meadow Close, said today: "Alan was like a man possessed. He was determined to find her."

Tess had taken Lucky for her daily run yesterday when she disappeared.

She said: "She's forever in trouble. Last week she fell in the river.

"So when she went missing yesterday I had visions of her falling in the water and drowning."

Tess spent hours scouring the area, without any luck.

When Alan returned from work at 2pm she told him the bad news.

She said: "He was convinced she'd gone down the rabbit hole so he went home and got shovels and a pickaxe."

Alan spent the next three hours excavating the site. Tess said: "The firemen were very concerned when they turned up. Alan was in the tunnel and they were afraid it would collapse on top of him."

With the help of the firefighters Lucky was eventually released.

Tess added: "She looked like a little black bear. She was wagging her tail but her eyes were opaque and she'd got dust on her chest."

Firemen gave first aid to the dog and Lucky was later taken to the vet for a check-up.

Tess said: "She's as bright as a button this morning, you'd never know she's been through such an ordeal.

"She's even had a good bark at the postman."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.