The dog fell into the water at Connaught
A woman who crawled over a frozen lake to rescue her dog could have drowned, firefighters have warned.
The dog owner was pictured rescuing the pup after he ran on to Connaught Water in Chingford, north-east London.
But the rescue bid has prompted London Fire Brigade to warn of the dangers of crawling on ice.
"There isn't anything brave about going out onto ice and it is incredible risky," said the brigade's community safety group manager, Mark Hazelton.
The woman crawled out on to the ice to rescue the pup
"The ice almost certainly won't take your weight and if you fall in when it's cold like it is at the moment, hypothermia will set in rapidly which can prove fatal.
"We're obviously pleased that on this occasion both the woman and the dog were uninjured but this incident could have had a very different outcome."
Firefighters have warned people not to go out on to frozen lakes
He said dog owners should instead call firefighters.
Forecasters have said the weather is stuck in a "cold rut" due to high pressure from Scandinavia bringing over cold air from the North Sea.
