A Sunday afternoon walk along the Taff Trail almost ended in tragedy when a woman trying to rescue her dog got into difficulty in the river at Blackweir .
Jessica Wilcox, from Pontprennau, had been walking two-year-old Frenchie/Pug cross Faith along the popular spot on the River Taff when her pet got too close to the edge and was taken by the strong current.
The 21-year-old trainee accountant then went in after her, only to find herself out of her depth and desperately having to cling to a tree branch - while clutching the frightened animal in the other hand - in order to prevent both of them being swept into the weir.
"There were three of us and we had a dog each," said friend Charlotte Hatch , also 21, from Roath.
"Faith was off her lead and we'd just gone to put one back on her when she disappeared behind some bushes - which is when we heard a splash.
"We couldn't believe it because she doesn't usually like water that much, and all we could do was watch as she got taken further and further out into the middle of the river."
The event organiser said that her other friend Georgia was first to go in after the animal, but ended up slipping and being submerged up to her shoulders in the freezing cold torrent.
"We got her straight back out before she went into shock - she couldn't even catch her breath, it was so cold," says Charlotte.
"Jessica then started running along the path to keep an eye on Faith, before lying head first on the sloping bank to try grabbing her as she came past.
"But she started sliding in too, and, before we could do anything, she was being carried off and trying to hang on to whatever she could."
Which, luckily, is when Chris Dawson-Morris happened to be passing by.
Heading back from a family bike ride to Cardiff Bay, the 34-year-old from Whitchurch - who is Head of Planning at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board - heard the shouts for help and ran to the water's edge.
"I could see a couple of women on the bank, one of whom was soaking wet," he says.
"The third was holding onto this tree in the river for dear life - her feet were right out behind her.
"So me and this other bloke who'd turned up managed to get this broken tree branch and get it over to her.
"She could have let the dog go and grabbed it to save herself, but she wouldn't. Somehow she got hold of it though and we got her and the dog back onto dry land. It took a number of us to finally pull them out to safety.
"It probably took three or four minutes all in all, but it's mostly just a blur.
"So much so, we never really stopped to get each other's names afterwards."
However, Jessica and her friends have since reunited with Chris on social media.
"We couldn't thank him enough," says Charlotte. "Or the other man who helped, whose identity we still don't know.
"Luckily everyone's okay - even Faith - but I dread to think what might have happened had our rescuers not turned up.
"We had a really lucky escape."
