A teenager with a "sixth sense" burrowed into a 7ft hole beneath a giant rock to save a trapped two-day-old lamb.
Incredible footage shows Corban Denize, 14, lodged head-first inside the hole as he desperately tries to rescue a lamb.
Corban, his dad Brendan and sister Katie had rushed to investigate when the teenager's granddad told them a worried ewe had been seen lingering around a rock around their farmland in New Zealand last Sunday.
The trio initially searched a smaller rock but the lamb was nowhere to be seen.
But a "feeling they hadn't done enough" came over them, so they stretched on and kept looking.
Footage shot by 17-year-old Katie then shows the "brave" teenager burrowing into a 7ft hole in a desperate search for the poor lamb, with his lower body being held by his dad to stop him from falling in.
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As the 46-year-old farmer yanks his son out, shocked Corban gasps "oh it's alive", before emerging from the holding the animal.
He triumphantly shouts 'I saved it' and jokes 'you be thankful, lamb' as Brendan picks up the lucky livestock before turning to reunite it with its waiting mother and sibling.
Brendan has since hailed his son a 'hero' for diving into the abyss on his farmland near Waitomo, New Zealand, but humble Corban simply enjoyed the excitement of the short rescue mission.
The proud dad posted the heart-warming footage to Facebook a few hours after the incident and it's since been viewed more than 143,000 times with users heaping praise on Corban too.
Corban said: "It was a pretty tight squeeze and wasn't the most comfortable down there, but I just stuck myself in there and luckily found the lamb.
"I thought it was dead at first but then as I was pulling it out I could feel it moving. That was really exciting, seeing it come out and making sure it was alive. It was a big relief.
"I had a lot of faith in my dad that he'd manage to pull me out, but it was great that he pulled me out and the lamb too. We're glad we decided to turn around and go back."
It's birthing season on Brendan's family farm, so dad Graeme Denize was checking on their ewes when he noticed one looking interested in a rock, but he gave up investigating when he found nothing.
Four hours later Brendan, Corban and Katie arrived at the 'tiny' hole with their torch, but, despite making sheep sounds to check for life, they didn't hear anything.
Brendan says a 'sixth sense' pulled them back to the hole to try harder and thanks to Corban's heroics they were able to rescue the lamb after what they believe to be around 12-18 hours stuck in the hole.
Brendan said: "When we turned to walk away, we all stopped and agreed there was something pulling us back. We decided we hadn't given it 100 per cent effort.
"We opened the hole up with a spade for a few minutes, and it was enough to get Corban's shoulders down, so he went down there blind.
"He's pretty brave, but he was nervous. When he pulled out the lamb we were so surprised. Not just that there was a lamb but that it was alive.
"He's a very adventurous, capable farm boy. I was telling him to get in there, but he's quite the hero.
"I made some jokes that he might not be able to get out, but the tone of his reply told me that he wasn't finding that funny. But all through this he was in great spirits.
"It was quite tight because for every spade of dirt we removed some of the soil would fall down into the hole, so we were aware there's no point in taking out dirt to fill the hole in.
"We were just relying on our sixth sense that there was something down there and we needed to give it every opportunity to prove to ourselves that we'd done a good job.
"If I was there on my own there's no way I would have been able to commit to the hole because I wouldn't have had someone to pull me out. I'd have done an average job and just walked away.
"My initial thoughts were how lucky am I to have cool kids and my second thought was how lucky this lamb was that we went back."
Brendan, who also lives with wife Trudy Denize, 47, and third child 13-year-old Harley Denize, runs Ripples Retreat holiday lodge on their land as well as their family farming business.
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Brendan's Facebook post, which has racked up more than 1,700 likes, 250 comments and 1,800 shares, was captioned: "Bl**dy handy having kids home. Everyday farm life near Waitomo".
Carol Davies commented: "Brave lad. No way would I have stuck my head down that hole. Well done both. And they say we don't care about our stock. Look at dad's delighted face."
Shanelle Kennedy explained: "Awh. I thought his mate was just stuck, but no, they saved the baby!"
John Magee said: "Absolutely wonderful. That's a real hero!"
Lauren McGlone added: "That is brilliant. What a cool kid."
