Dog rescued after quarry water trouble

Amajor water rescue was launched in Tillicoultry after a dog ended up in difficulty in an old quarry.

The drama began at around 2.30pm yesterday afternoon when the dog found itself floundering in the water in a disused quarry in the Clackmannanshire town, which sits just a few miles outside Perthshire.

The dog was unable to get to safety after landing in the water at Craigfoot

Quarry, close to the Tilly Mill Glen Trail.

Emergency services were mobilised, with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service water and rope rescue units from Lochgelly and Stirling joining in the hurry to save the pooch.

Fire appliances from Glenrothes and Bridge of Allan also joined the rescue bid.

After around an hour, the exhausted dog was reunited with its anxious owner on the banking.

A spokesman for the fire service said: “We were alerted at 2.30pm on Tuesday that a dog was in difficulty at the old whinstone quarry at Craigfoot Quarry at Tillycoultry.

“Several units were sent to the scene, including a water rescue and a rope rescue unit.

“Officers from the rope rescue unit at Lochgelly managed to successfully carry out a line rescue of the dog.”

Craigfoot Quarry was opened in 1930.

It was one of only two active quarries in the Ochil Hills.

It originally worked a quartz-dolerite fault within the andesite, which is the coloured streak running down through the blueblack igneous rock – often referred to as “whinstone”, and long used as kerbing, hardcore and road metalling.

In January 1949 it experienced a large explosion, when a magazine containing 150lb of explosives detonated, killing quarryman Alexander Honeyman and blowing out doors and windows in the Shillinghill area of Tillicoultry.

Craigfoot shut around four years ago, despite having planning

permission to extract more stone.

In 2018, another dog had a lucky escape when it was rescued by firefighters after plunging more than 80ft at Falls of Bruar, near Blair Atholl.

On that occasion it was also the line rescue unit from Lochgelly that went to the scene and managed to pluck the dog to safety.

EMERGENCY: The dog was saved by the line rescue unit after it became exhausted when swimming in the water at Craigfoot Quarry, Tillicoultry.