A “confused and disorientated” pooch had to be rescued by a team of firefighters after getting trapped in an old badger tunnel in the woods.

Alvin, a nine-year-old Jack Russell terrier, was on a walk with his owner in woods behind Letchfield, in Ley Hill, Chesham, when he came across a hole in the ground.

When his owners Caron and Ian Cullen turned round, the pet could not be seen - but he could be heard whimpering – so the pair called on the fire service and the RSPCA for help.

The fire service had a camera on a pole ready to have a look down the holes - but it first needed to be established that the badger sett was not active, as badgers and their setts are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.

RSPCA inspector Jaime Godfrey inspected the setts and found no signs that badgers were nearby, but called a representative from a nearby badger group to check.

Inspector Godfrey said: “We were given the OK for the fire service to stick a camera down the hole and that’s when we discovered that Alvin was about three metres in. He had obviously gone down there but then got confused by the maze of tunnels and didn’t know which way to turn.

“The camera had a light on it and Alvin decided to follow the light all the way out of the tunnel. We were all so relieved as we were worried that he could have gotten his collar caught on a root, but thankfully he had only got a little disorientated.

“It was so lovely when he came out, uninjured. He looked a little sheepish though and a bit bemused that so many people were there trying to rescue him.”

James Tuffley, Red Watch Commander from Aylesbury Fire Station, added: “Our Animal Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue crews attended and used listening equipment and cameras under the direction of the RSPCA and a badger expert.

“We coaxed Alvin out using the light from a search camera, which gave him something to focus on after he became confused and disoriented in the darkness of the tunnel. We were very pleased to have helped bring about a safe and what turned out to be relatively easy rescue.”