A dog was saved by rescuers, who employed the unusual method of tying a sausage to a drone to guide her out of some mudflats.

Millie, who is a Jack Russell-whippet cross, slipped her lead in Havant, Hampshire and disappeared.

After a search she was spotted out on some mudflats in a perilous position and initially resisted rescue.

She defied the efforts of police, firefighters and coastguards to rescue her from the mudflats, and there was cause for concern due to the tide coming in.

Due to this short amount of time to complete the rescue, the idea was thought of to try and lure Millie out with the scent from a sausage.

After checking the regulations of the Civil Aviation Authority and the weight restrictions of the drone, the rescue effort went ahead with a single, dangling, sausage.

Chris Taylor, the chair of the Denmead Drone Search and Rescue team called it a "crazy idea" but it worked in getting her to come to shore.

Speaking to The Guardian Taylor said: “If we hadn’t had got her away from that area the tide would have come in and she would have been at risk of drowning.

“It was something we had never tried before – the sausages were the last resort, as we couldn’t reach her by kayak or any other means.

“Because Millie was hungry it worked at luring her away from the danger to higher ground, which wouldn’t go underwater.

"We certainly would consider using sausages again: every dog and search operation is always going to be different, but if we were ever in a similar situation again we would employ the same methods to lure the dog," he added.

After being rescued Millie did then escape again but owner Emma Oakes eventually got her back.