Loyal dog stood guard over owner who was stuck in bog for seven hours

Aerial footage has been released of a man being found by a police helicopter after he became stuck in a muddy bog in a field. Martin Kay, 67, had been stranded for almost seven hours with his dog remaining close by, before he was rescued by officers. Mr Kay had taken his black Labrador Holly Blue out for a walk in Thornham Parva, Suffolk, at around 2.30pm on 18 January. As it was nice weather, he decided to take a different route across the fields than he would usually use and ended up getting stuck.



The alarm was raised at 7.30pm by a friend who went to pick him up at home and found he was not there, which was completely out of character. A police helicopter then found Mr Kay around 9pm and directed the first officers on the ground to where he was. PCs Luke Allard and Clare Wayman tried to pull him out of the bog, but they became stuck themselves. They covered Mr Kay with their jackets to keep him warm as the temperature was now below freezing, whilst awaiting help from other colleagues.




YouTube link.

Eventually they were all freed and PC Allard, together with dog handler PC Neil Wisken, carried Mr Kay about half a mile to the road where an ambulance took him to hospital. Mr Kay, who wrote his rescuers to thanks them, has now met them in person. He was was invited to the National Police Air Service base at Wattisham to view the helicopter and meet with pilot Captain Steve Ashcroft, Tactical Flight Officer PC Bazlinton, and PCs Allard, Wayman and Wisken.



Mr Kay said: "It is marvellous to meet them and personally thank them for saving my life. I don't remember much about the rescue - the last thing I remember was that it was getting dark and then the next thing I woke up in hospital. I hadn't walked that route for about two years and when I came across the mud, I tested the ground at the side and it felt firm, but as I walked into the middle the ground began to sink. I called for help but nobody heard me and eventually I drifted off. I wasn't optimistic about being found, but I wasn't panicking - it was too cold for that!"