Tank, a six-year-old wire-haired Norfolk terrier, fell down the disused shaft near Hayle while out with her master, Hamish Lothian, on Thursday.

The dog's fall was broken by timbers which had been used to cap the shaft.

She was brought to the surface after a two-hour rope rescue operation by Cornwall County Fire Service on Friday.

Barks heard

Tank chased the rabbit at lunchtime on Thursday. When she later failed to return, Mr Lothian searched fruitlessly until midnight.

I cried like a baby when Tank was rescued Hamish Lothian

Mr Lothian was then told about the old mineshaft about 60ft (18m) away from his boundary on Higher Goneva Farm at Wall and heard Tank's barks coming up the shaft on Friday afternoon.

He said: "I called the RSPCA right away, and the fire service turned up with three appliances.

"They were fantastic. I cried like a baby when Tank was rescued," he said, adding he had had the terrier since she was a puppy.

The pet's fall was broken by timbers capping the shaft "otherwise she would have fallen hundreds of feet," Mr Lothian said.

Mr Lothian had been on the 12-acre farm for just eight weeks with his wife, Nancy, and 18-month-old daughter, Esme.