Black Labrador rescued by lifeboats after chasing his ball into the sea off Seaton Sluice

A black Labrador who chased his ball into the sea had to be rescued by lifeboats after strong tides pulled him far off the coast.

Beloved pet Shaddah had been out walking near Seaton Sluice, Northumberland, with his owner last Thursday afternoon, when he bounded into the water to fetch a ball.

But currents pulled the young dog as far as 200m out to sea, according to Blyth Coastguard.

The Coastguard and RNLI were called in to help rescue the pooch, and rushed out to sea to retrieve him.

Blyth RNLI's D class inshore lifeboat was launched at 3.26pm and headed South towards Seaton Sluice. Once on scene some ten minutes later, the volunteer crew started to search for stranded Shaddah.

Blyth Coastguard workers spotted him in the water, and the volunteer lifeboat crew headed out in that direction.

Video shared by the RNLI shows Shaddah was quickly sighted, and the crew managed to pull him aboard.

Shaddah was quickly returned to his worried owner (Blyth RNLI)

They then made their short way back to Seaton Sluice harbour to reunite him, with his grateful owner.

Blyth RNLI Lifeboat and Operations Manager Barry Pearson said: "We are really pleased with the outcome of this shout and are glad to hear that Shaddah is making a full recovery from his ordeal.

"The correct course of action was taken and that we were able to assist."

A spokesperson for Blyth Coastguard added: "The team were paged [on Thursday' by Humber Coastguard to assist locating a dog who had entered the water to retrieve its ball.

"The team arrived on scene and were able to identify the dog’s location approximately 200m offshore. The team were able to con RNLI, Blyth Lifeboat on to the dog’s position so that they could get him aboard. The dog was safely returned to shore to be reunited with his owner."

An RNLI spokesperson urged any owners whose dogs are swept out to sea to contact the coastguard on 999 instead of trying to rescue them themselves, saying Shaddah's owner had done exactly the right thing.

There's more information on walking your dog safely at the coast at: https://rnli.org/safety/choose-your-activity/coastal-walking/dog-walking