This is the extraordinary moment a brave Sikh man removes his turban and uses it to lower himself down and rescue a stricken dog from drowning in a river.

Sarwan Singh, 28, immediately took off his turban when he noticed that the pet was in difficulty in the irrigation canal in Punjab, India.

He then gives on end of the long material to his friends at the top of the steep banks of the canal and uses it as a rope to steady himself as he lower himself down closer to the water.

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This is the moment a Sikh Sarwan Singh removed his turban and used it as a rope into order to save a dog drowning in a canal

Mr Singh also used a separate piece of material to try and scoop up the dog, who was in difficulty on the water

Mr Singh then uses the other piece of fabric to try and scoop up the dog to bring it to safety.

And after several attempts at trying to rescue the pet he manages to bring it to the shore and back up on to dry land.

Mr Sarwan said: 'I was travelling when I saw a group of men pointing towards the canal.

'I stopped my car and went over to check what was happening. I was shocked to see that there was a dog drowning but no was actually helping.'

After several attempts at trying to rescue the pet he manages to bring it to the shore and back up on to dry land

Mr Sarwan, who cannot swim decided he had to make use of his turban in a last ditch attempt to free the canine

Mr Sarwan, who cannot swim, then decided to make use of his turban in a last ditch attempt to free the canine.

He added: 'The moment I started taking off my turban, people watching around were shocked. They thought I was disrespecting my faith.

'But what was important at that point was to save the animal's life.'

Wearing a turban is one of the five articles of faith in Sikhism. It is a doctrine of Sikhism that one can only remove their turban at home or while bathing.

Mr Sarwan with his children. It is a doctrine of Sikhism that one can only remove their turban at home or while bathing

He added: 'The dog wasn't comfortable. He was not coming to me at all.

'We had to follow him for around 200 metres before I was able to wrap my turban around his neck and pull him to safety.