GOLDEN retriever Mischief lived up to his name when he fell 100 feet into a quarry, took almost 24 hours to rescue -then walked away with nothing more than a cut paw.

The lucky mutt was so glad to be rescued that he sat on the lap of the firemen who was winched down to him, refused to budge and then promptly fell asleep once he was cradled, safe and sound inside the special bag that was used to haul him to safety.

The drama unfolded after Mischief vanished while out for a walk on the Quantocks with owner Tony Rich, of Nether Stowey, at around 8.30am on Saturday morning.

Despite hours of searching, Mr Rich - a retired firefighter with more than 25 years of experience - could find no trace of his eight-year-old pet and returned home at lunchtime unsure what to do next.

Thankfully, although Mischief had tumbled over the edge of the quarry face at Triscombe, he managed to land on a small ledge, 100 feet below.

Miraculously, he was largely unhurt and set about attracting attention by barking.

A passer-by heard him and called the emergency services, who turned to Nether Stowey firefighters - including Mr Rich's son, serving firefighter Nick Rich - to help rescue the dog.

Mr Rich's wife Barbara said the first they knew of Mischief's whereabouts was when their son phoned them to say he had been called out to rescue a dog.

Speaking to the Free Press on Tuesday, Mrs Rich said: "Our son Nick telephoned to say he'd heard we'd lost a dog.

"We have no idea who reported him, but we had to wait for a special rescue tender to come from Barnstaple so someone could abseil down to him."

Unfortunately, Mischief was so glad to see a would-be saviour that he refused to keep still long enough to be winched up the cliff-face and the rescue attempt had to be abandoned.

And with the light fading rapidly, it was deemed too unsafe for the crews to continue working and Mischief had to be left overnight on the ledge.

At first light the following morning, firefighters and Mr and Mrs Rich returned to the quarry and to their relief found Mischief waiting patiently for them 100 feet below.

This time, rescuers waited for a specialist animal rescue bag to arrive before going back down into the quarry to help the stricken pet.

Mrs Rich said: "I was sitting in one of the crew's Land Rovers watching through binoculars and I could see him wagging like mad as the fireman got to him.

"Someone radioed him to say 'have you secured the dog?' and the response was 'no, the dog has secured himself to me' - apparently, Mischief had sat on his lap and wasn't going anywhere."

In fact, as soon as Mischief was put inside the rescue bag he went to sleep, exhausted, hungry and with nothing more to worry about than a small cut to his paw.

"He's one very lucky dog," Mrs Rich said back at the family home.

"We're so lucky someone heard him barking and that he landed on a ledge and not in the water below.

"We're extremely grateful to everyone who helped to rescue him. They were all amazing.

"It was difficult having to leave him overnight but you have to find a balance between rescuing a dog and putting someone from the rescue services at risk.

"The whole attitude of everyone involved was fantastic - they really cared. It was just amazing."

Firefighters from Nether Stowey, Williton, Minehead and Barnstaple were involved in Mischief's rescue.