Rescuers are racing against time to find a dog trapped in a Sussex sewer system after residents heard it wailing through their floorboards.

Animal welfare officers called the fire brigade when they realised the animal was lost in the sewers.

Firefighters are hoping to lure the dog out from a manhole before time runs out.

Residents in Hampstead Road, Brighton, heard the dog howling in the early hours yesterday.

The sound was coming from underneath their houses, gardens and the road as the dog frantically roamed the tunnels underground, trying to find its way out.

Neighbour Alison Bailey heard howling when she got in from work.

She said: "The sound was coming from the floorboards so I lifted one up and the noise was even louder.

"Whenever I called to the dog, it would respond with yelps."

RSPCA officers checked manholes in gardens and the road but couldn't track down the animal.