A week-old pup was recovering today after being accidentally flushed down the toilet.

The tiny cocker spaniel was trapped in a waste pipe for nearly four hours after Daniel Blair, four, decided he "needed a wash" and put him in a toilet before pulling the chain, the Daily Mirror revealed.

After frantic attempts to find the pet, drainage firm Dyno-Rod was called in and used specialist camera gear to locate him in a pipe 20 yards away from the house, in Northolt, Middlesex.

He was then plucked to safety.

The animal has since been named Dyno after his rescuers, who were contacted after members of fire brigade and RSPCA were unable to get him out.

Daniel's mother Alison, 40, said the pup's ordeal began after Daniel's twin brother Nicky took him out for a walk in the garden.

She told the Mirror: "Daniel told me it had got muddy so they put it in the toilet and pulled the chain to give it a wash. I ran to the bathroom but the dog was nowhere to be seen. I assumed it was dead.

"I went into the garden, managed to lift up the drain cover and was amazed to hear him crying."

Dyno-Rod man Will Craig, 22, from Harrow in Middlesex, was eventually called in, admitting he thought it was a wind-up at first.

But after arriving at the scene he used camera gear to find the dog and gently nudge him towards a manhole cover and safety.

Mr Craig told the paper: "At first I didn't want to do it because I was scared of hurting the dog. But the RSPCA said I was his only hope. Eventually I pushed him far enough for the firemen to grab."

Cheering broke out after the rescue was completed, he added.

Distraught Daniel said he was "so, so sorry" about flushing Dyno down the toilet, vowing: " I won't do it again".