A WOMAN had to be saved by firefighters after becoming trapped in a river as she tried to rescue her dogs.

Crews from Bury and Whitefield rushed to the scene near Broad Oak Terrace, in Bury, this morning to pull Katron Doody and her dogs out of the River Roch.

The 41-year-old was walking her dogs – Sheldon, a Jack Russell, and Lottie, a Cocker Spaniel – when she found herself in difficulty.

A boat and a technical response unit were also deployed from Heywood to assist with the rescue.

The dog walker was treated at the scene by the North West Ambulance Service and had not sustained any injuries.

Katron said: “I was walking the dogs when Sheldon ran down the embankment towards the water, quickly followed by 11-month-old Lottie. I ran after Lottie with her being so young. The ground caved in beneath me and I fell to the bottom of the embankment and landed in the water.

“Luckily I managed to climb out of the water but there was no way I could get back up to the top of the bank. I can’t thank the firefighters enough for rescuing me, I just didn’t think of the dangers at the time.”

Station Manager Mark Doggett said: “The firefighters did a brilliant job rescuing Katron and our colleagues from North West Ambulance Service took care of her once she was back up the embankment.

“We would like to remind people to take extra care around water and not to attempt to rescue their dogs putting themselves in danger.

“Dogs always manage to find their way to safety but people often end up in difficulty and needing help from emergency services.”