Rescuers at the scene on the riverbank. Photo: Bowland Pennine MRT

A woman was rescued after she injured her back jumping into a Lancashire river to save her dog.

The 27-year-old entered the River Lune at Caton when her animal became stranded on a rock.

Ambulance staff requested the help of Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team at the remote location near a weir on the river, north of the Forest of Bowland.

The team was called out shortly after 6pm on Easter Monday.

A team spokesperson said: “The rescue team, all local volunteers, once on scene assisted the North West Ambulance Service crew and utilised our Blizzard blankets to provide shelter for the casualty.

“Bowland Pennine MRT recently issued each team member with one of these lifesaving devices, which provides warmth and weather protection therefore reducing shock and guarding against the risk of hypothermia in all conditions.

“Once the casualty was stabilised and the spine was protected she was placed on a Bell mountain rescue stretcher and then carried from the riverside and placed into one of our Land Rover 110 ambulances where she was transported across fields back to the waiting land ambulance.”

The team said the woman’s dog swam to safety and was unharmed.