Residents of a town in the north of Spain heard yelping coming from a storm drain, which prompted the Town Hall to get a JCB into action.

The metal beasty was used to prise open several drain covers, as they had been partially covered by tarmac, so that the Guardia Civil could use an extending arm (the long arm of the law, perhaps?) to grab the sorry mutts and reunite them with daylight.

How they had come to be down there, was that a heavily pregnant bitch had managed to crawl in from the outlet in a gully in order to deliver her litter.

This all happened on the 21st of August in a town called Cristina (Badajoz, Extremadura).

All told the cuddly Guardia Civil rescued six pups, all of whom were only a few days old.

(News: Cristina, Badajoz, Extremadura)