A DOG was trapped underground in a Worcestershire badger’s sett for four days before being dramatically rescued by firefighters.

Boh, a 23-month-old border terrier, ended up stranded down the sett on Sunday.

A rescue crew from Droitwich fire station met up with officials from the RSPCA and English Heritage on Wednesday because they needed permission to disturb the sett in Foxhill Lane, Alvechurch.

Badgers and their setts are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.

A team of firefighters then identified a series of entrances to it and used acoustic detection equipment to pinpoint the location of Boh underground.

Crew commander Phil Ball said: “We could hear the sound of heavy breathing which we were pretty sure was an animal in distress, rather than simply a badger inside its sett.

“We then used a ‘snake eye’ camera and we were able to locate the dog in a 10ft-long tunnel about 4ft below the ground.”

They then clawed back some land to reach Boh, who was lifted out with a rabbit still in its mouth and reunited with the owners.

He added: “It would seem the dog had become trapped in the sett with the rabbit wedged in its mouth.

“This had made it impossible for the dog to breathe through its mouth and so had been struggling to breathe through its nose, hence the laboured breathing we could hear with our detection equipment.”

Boh was left with an infection in one eye and needed fluid and antibiotics following the rescue, but is expected to make a full recovery.