A terrified dog was saved by a passer-by after it walked off the edge of a sea wall and plunged several feet into freezing cold water.

Friends Kyron Rolfe and Llewan Campbell were cycling along Westgate-on-Sea promenade at about 6.45am when they came across a woman fearing for the safety of her pooch.

Video courtesy of Kyron Rolfe

The pair, aged 20 and 19 respectively, looked over the edge and saw the shivering canine edging along the base of the wall, trying to avoid the icy swell.

Kryon said: "As we were riding, the woman said, 'My dog has been in the water for 10 minutes'.

"The dog was off its lead and the owner said it regularly walks along the edge of the wall. It fell off and luckily, because the tide was in, it landed in water and not a rock.

"She was having a right panic and my friend said, 'Don't worry about it - I'll go in'.

"She said, 'That's ridiculous. It's half six in the morning, the water's going to be freezing' ."

Llewan, a lifeguard at Margate Leisure Centre, walked down the steps into the sea and waded across to the dog.

Footage of the rescue shows the teen placing the canine on top of a pipe, before lifting the creature by its harness and into the arms of its owner.

"At first it was scared and you can see it was trying to bite Llewan when he was in the water," Kyron added.

"When it was out, the dog was shaken up a little bit, but fine."

He says Llewan was "shaking and shivering" after he left the water and consequently decided not to continue the 18-mile bike ride to Reculver.

Kyron continued: "He didn't hesitate to save the dog - he went straight in. His quick thinking left me speechless.

"He said afterwards, 'I've got to go home and have a shower - I don't want to catch hypothermia'. I spoke to him later, though, and he was fine."

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