A DOG-WALKER was hauled to safety from the River Cherwell in Oxford by firefighters after she tried to rescue her dog, which had fallen through the ice near University Parks.

Firefighters said the 39-year-old had a lucky escape after being spotted in the water by a passer-by, who called 999.

Jane Byam Shaw said: “When I arrived at the scene, she was struggling to escape from a hole in the ice, about three to four metres from the bank, with a black Labrador beside her.

“Only her head and shoulders were visible.”

It is believed the woman had had been walking two dogs along the river opposite the gardens of Lady Margaret Hall before crashing through the ice.

Firefighters arrived within five minutes of being called and hauled the woman from the water before helping the dog back to the riverbank.

Station Manager Paul Molloy said: “Dog owners should think very carefully about where they exercise their animals and keep dogs on leads near water.

“This woman was lucky the passer-by spotted her in the water. If she hadn’t been there at that moment this could have been a very different story.

“Ice can appear to be thicker than it is, and if a dog falls through, then a human almost certainly will.”

Three days before Christmas, the body of 74-year-old Ann Powles, from Summertown, was found under ice upstream on the Cherwell at Sunnymead, with her border terrier Jumbo.

It is thought the grandmother slipped under the ice while trying to rescue her dog on the evening of Monday, December 20.