Injured dog found alone in water-filled ditch in Birmingham

"Nelly", thought to be a Staffordshire bull terrier-type bitch, was tied to a fence with a martial arts belt

An abandoned dog found tied to a fence in a water-filled ditch has been rescued by firefighters.

"Nelly" was badly injured and underweight when a dog walker spotted her on Clevedon Road in Balsall Heath, Birmingham on Tuesday.

She had a severely injured and infected paw and the infection had spread to a front leg which must now be amputated, the Animal House Rescue charity said.

It described those responsible for her treatment as "cowards".

"It's indescribable that people think that this is an acceptable way to treat an animal," Lin Reeves, from the charity said.

• Latest updates in the West Midlands

"Even if you haven't got the guts to go to a vets or something and find help, there's no need to do that. They're just cowards."

The man who found Nelly tied to a fence with a belt called West Midlands Fire Service after being unable to retrieve her from the ditch.

Most of the photos taken by the charity are too distressing to republish

A crew from Highgate station managed to get her out before taking her to a vets and then to Animal House Rescue.

Staff at the charity, who think she is a four or five year old Staffordshire bull terrier-type dog, named her Nelly.

Ms Reeves said Nelly's wounds were not new so she would have been in pain for some time. She is also producing milk so has recently had puppies.

Despite her distress, she has been wagging her tail and "shown nothing but gentleness to the fire crew that rescued her and to all of us", Ms Reeves added.

"She is so sweet, which is even more soul destroying because she is such a lovely girl."

Nelly will undergo surgery to remove her infected leg later and once recovered will be fully assessed, spayed and hopefully re-homed, the charity said.