A border collie had a lucky escape after she fell on a piece of wood which embedded inside her throat.

Flick was playing a game of fetch with her owner Gordon Smith when she tripped and the 13-inch stick plunged straight down her throat.

Mr Smith, 73, found her bleeding and shaking and rushed her to Croft Veterinary Hospital in Cramlington, Northumberland.

An X-ray revealed the stick had embedded in her throat, narrowly missing her spine, major arteries and nerves.

Louise McLean, a vet at the hospital, said: "It took someone with bigger muscles than me to pull it out. We had to use one of those adjustable spanner things."

Mr Smith said: "The first thing she did when she was better was go and pick up a big stick."

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