Elizabeth and Tom Peeling, from Vale Road, Seaford, were walking Kacey, their German Shepherd cross near Newhaven Fort when it is thought she slipped down the cliff face.

She was left stranded on a ledge about a foot wide.

Mrs Peeling said: 'We had been bogged down with flu and we thought we will take her up the headland at Newhaven.

'I took a lot of old bread so I thought we could stand at the top and feed the birds.

'One minute she was standing next to me and the next she had gone.

'I thought she had run into the bushes but after about a minute we heard some people calling from right down on the beach saying "have you lost a dog"?

'I said "no, our dog's up here" and they said there was a dog on the ledge.

'We looked down and couldn't see so my husband climbed down the cliff a bit and we realised it was definitely her.

'I raced up to the watch tower and said I was so sorry but I didn't know what to do. They said the coastguard were sending people out.

'All the guys were absolutely blooming marvellous.

'I kept apologising but they said they would only be sitting at home watching telly!'

The coastguard launched a nine-man rescue effort, sending a man down the cliff face on a rope to where Kacey was stuck.

Trevor Cutler, coastguard station officer at Newhaven, said: 'She was about halfway down on a ledge about a foot wide.

'The dog was very distressed when my man got to her and he had to try and coax her into a recovery bag.

'It was very distressing for the owners and I think he must have spent about 15 minutes on the cliff face trying to coax her in.'

Kacey was winched to the top of the cliffs to be re-united with her owners.

Mrs Peeling said Kacey had recovered from the ordeal.

'I did take her out this morning and she stuck very close-by but other than that she is fine.'
This was Kacey's second lucky break.

Her owners adopted her from a rescue centre.

Mr Cutler warned owners of the dangers of walking their dogs near the cliffs.

He said: 'This does happen quite a lot throughout the year.

'If people are unfortunate enough to have this happen to them we would ask them to always call the coastguard straight away and do not attempt to recover the dog themselves.

'It is so dangerous, especially at this time of year when the chalk is just crumbling underfoot.

'We would also advise people to keep their dogs on the lead when walking them anywhere near the cliffs.'