A man left clinging to a cliff after he scrambled up it to look for his dog was rescued - with his pet helping to 'raise the alarm'.

The man got stuck on a cliff at Dungy Head between Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove and needed to be rescued.

It is understood he had been on the beach when his dog ran off.

Chasing after his pet, he ended up going up the cliff away from the path but got into difficulty.

Rescuers said the dog had managed to scale the cliff and run home - believed to be close by - prompting concerned relatives to raise the alarm with the emergency services.

They compared it to a rescue by fictional Rough Collie dog Lassie.

The owner, who is also understood to have raised the alarm using his mobile phone, was hauled to safety by coastguards using a full rope rescue.

Dorset Echo:

Picture: Wyke Coastguard Rescue Team/Dorset Police

Coastguard rescue teams from Kimmeridge, Lulworth and Wyke responded on Friday morning along with police and the RNLI.

A spokesman for Kimmeridge Coastguard Rescue Team said: "The team was paged at 10.26am alongside Lulworth and Wyke teams to conduct a cliff rescue near Durdle Door for a person on the cliff face after attempting to rescue his dog.

"Thankfully the person was rescued safe and well and the dog had managed to scale the cliff and made its way home raising concerns with other family members in true Lassie-style!"

Weymouth RNLI inshore lifeboat responded to the incident.

A spokesman for Weymouth RNLI said: "We were called out yesterday morning after the police took a call from a man chasing his dog now stuck on a rock between Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. It took some time to locate him, but he was eventually rescued by the coastguard rescue ream.

"On the way back to the station, the inshore lifeboat was re-tasked to check on a canoe found by a dive boat for recent signs of occupancy. On reaching the kayak it showed no signs of recent occupancy and the volunteer crew returned to the station."