TWO dogs carried out a Lassie-style rescue after their epileptic owner fell and became trapped, holding on to a tree branch above a 60ft sheer drop.
Mongrels Suzy and Sweep were out walking with Audrey Lyford, who was looking for her cat, Sooty, near her home in Wood Terrace, Primrose Hill.
Audrey lost her footing in the dark and tumbled 30ft down an embankment.
She grabbed a tree and stopped her fall - just inches from a sheer 60ft drop on to a plateau next to the River Holme.
Audrey, 23, got out her mobile phone with her free hand to ring 999.
But when she was on the phone to emergency operators she had an epileptic fit.
Meanwhile, her mum Deborah was at home in Wood Terrace and heard the dogs barking.
When she opened the front door the two pets barked at her, apparently urging her to follow them.
Deborah, 46, said: "It was like they were telling me to come with them.
"I couldn't see or hear Audrey, so they took me to her."
Deborah, originally from London, said that when she saw her daughter dangling from the branch she went cold.
She added: "It was a mother's worst nightmare. I could see Audrey needed help, but I couldn't get to her."
She said she even thought about getting a rope and trying to go after her daughter herself.
But then emergency services arrived. During a tense one-hour operation they discovered that Audrey was suffering a fit as she clung on.
They strapped her to the tree before hoisting her up and taking her to hospital by ambulance.
Deborah said: "She has whiplash injuries and is understandably still very shocked.
"One day someone else will fall down there and will not be as lucky. The council should do something."
Deborah said she was just pleased to see her daughter safe.
She added: "Suzy and Sweep are heroes. They have already been given treats, but they deserve something extra-special for their heroics."
