A CHEPSTOW farmer wants to remind dog walkers of the importance of keeping their dogs on a lead after one of their sheep was 'scared off' and got stuck in mud on the River Wye riverbank.

Charlotte Waters and her family, who own Thornwell Farm, found last Thursday morning (July 18) that a dog – which was with its owner but not on a lead – had scared one of the sheep and it was stuck in mud up to its stomach.

The dog owner called Chepstow fire station to the farm riverbank where they began their rescue.

Charlotte said: "One of our sheep was grazing on the riverbank when a dog that was with its owner, but not on a lead, went up to the sheep and scared it so it ended up stuck in mud on the riverbank. The dog owner called the fire service when they noticed the sheep had got into difficulty and two firemen rescued it.

"When I received the call from a local friend to say what had happened I rushed over to make sure the sheep was safe. Luckily, the dog hadn't bitten the sheep but to be on the safe side I gave it an injection. The sheep was shaken up but OK. However, we want to remind dog owners that their dogs should be kept on a lead regardless of if they are walking on a public footpath or on private land.

"We are thankful it wasn't a lot worse and that the sheep hadn't fallen into the water. We want to thank the fire service for their help in rescuing our sheep."

Watch manager for Chepstow fire station, Steve Cooksey attended the incident and said: "We were called to the riverbank at just before 7am where we found that a sheep was stuck in mud up to its stomach. It was a simple rescue which involved using an inflatable walkway as a stable platform to reach the sheep and bring it back to safety.

"The riverbank is on an incline and the sheep was stuck at about 10 feet down from it. Although it was a simple rescue for the crew it wouldn't have been safe for the public to attempt to rescue the sheep without getting harmed in some way.

"It was fortunate that the tide was in our favour and that the sheep wasn't in the river as the operation would have been more difficult. The sheep was returned back to its owner and didn't appear to be injured. We are glad that it was a successful outcome."