Dog found drowning in Farndon with rock tied to lead rescued Published duration 6 January

image copyright Nottinghamshire Police image caption Bella the Belgian shepherd was taken to a vet by Nottinghamshire Police

A dog found drowning in a river with a carrier bag containing a heavy rock tied to its lead has been rescued.

The Belgian shepherd was spotted in the River Trent and dragged to safety by a woman near Long Lane, Farndon, Nottinghamshire, at about 08:45 GMT.

The dog, whose name was recorded as Bella on her microchip in 2010, was taken to a vet where she is recovering.

A 31-year-old woman and a man, aged 32, have been arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty offences.

image copyright Nottinghamshire Police image caption The dog had a carrier bag containing this large rock tied to her lead

PC Adam Pace said: "Whilst the dog is still quite poorly she has been showing some encouraging signs by eating so hopefully she will be on the mend.

"This was an evil and nasty thing to do to this poor dog. We are lucky that the kind member of the public found and rescued her."

Although the dog's name was recorded in 2010 as Bella, it's thought she could now be known by another name.

PC Pace appealed for anyone who had dash-cam or CCTV footage of vehicles in Long Lane to get in touch.

You may also be interested in:

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.