Hole lot of trouble

It was a tough 30-minute wait for David and Trish McKenzie, of Oamaru, as firefighters from the Oamaru Volunteer Fire Brigade worked quickly to rescue their dog, which was trapped in a rabbit burrow last night.

Ben, a Jack Russell-fox terrier mix, was out on a walk through the Oamaru Public Gardens when he took off after a rabbit and failed to return.

Mr McKenzie said they were able to find the hole where Ben was trapped by following his howls.

"He was yelping and crying from inside the burrow but, try as we might, we couldn't reach him ourselves.

"The burrow was under boxthorns and other rubbish which was almost impossible to get into, but the fire brigade arrived and they got stuck into it, eventually cutting away enough stuff, and were able to free him so he was able to come out under his own steam.''