Pet Staffie swallowed by old mineshaft in Willenhall
[gallery] A father today relived the dramatic moment a six-foot deep mineshaft opened up in the garden of his home – swallowing up his beloved pet dog.
Brett Simms leaped into action when his Staffordshire bull terrier disappeared down the mineshaft that collapsed in Gough Street, Willenhall. He jumped down to pull his pet to safety before being hauled back up himself by a neighbour. The drama happened when Mr Simms called his dogs to him and Skits disappeared as he ran across the garden.
The landscape gardener, aged 25, said: "I looked out the window and the dogs were at the bottom of the garden.
"I called the dogs in and Skits was running across the garden and he just disappeared."
Noticing the light was on across the road, Mr Simms called his neighbour and jumped into the hole to get the Staffordshire Bull Terrier to safety.
He was then lifted to safety himself by his neighbour and both emerged from the hole unscathed.
Tests
Father-of-three Mr Simms said: "I went upstairs to my wife Angela and said there's a big hole in our back garden.
"She didn't believe me at first but then she came to have a look. We didn't really know who to call so we phoned the police first.
"Then we had lots of people down here looking at it."
Police, building experts from Walsall Council, an officer from Walsall Housing Group and teams from the Coal Authority all descended on the family home at around 3am on Sunday.
Experts were returning to the home yesterday to fill in the hole and carry out tests.
Neighbours were warned not to venture into their gardens until investigations have been completed.
