A FAMILY is celebrating the safe return of its faithful pet dog after he was trapped in a 20ft tall bonfire for 24 hours sparking a massive rescue operation.

Thirteen members of Hampshire's emergency services including the Hampshire's Urban Search and Rescue team (URSA) were involved in the rescue.

Mylo the two-year-old Jack Russell is a celebrity in his home village. He is often seen wandering to the local school and the corner shop.

But on Saturday evening his inquisitive nature took him deep into an unlit bonfire on nearby farmland where he had been chasing a rabbit.

Mylo had been walking with his ten-year-old owner George Smith on land near Lower Chase Road, in Swanmore.

When he failed to reappear 45 minutes later, George and his dad George Smith senior, from Spring Vale in Bishop's Waltham, dialled 999.

Eight Members of URSA, who are specially trained to work in rescue operations all over the world after disasters and five Bishop's Waltham retained fire fighters worked to free the dog from the bonfire - made up of coppice wood, mud and matted roots.

The team worked until dusk on Saturday using specialist search equipment including thermal imaging cameras. They were back on site at 8am yesterday.

At 11am yesterday the little dog was found trapped between branches. Yesterday he was reunited with ten-year-old George and the family's three other children, Josie, 9, Ruby, 6, and Nancy, 4.

George, 10, who named his dog after a character from children's television programme the Tweenies, said: "I'm so happy, Mylo means the world to me. While he was stuck there were times when he wasn't answering me and very down. First of all I thought he might be dead.

"I'm really thankful for all the help, without it I wouldn't have him back. I've given him a big bowl of food."