MOLLY the dog has made a miraculous return to her owner after falling off the edge of a cliff.

The border terrier was the focus of a coastguard rescue at cliffs to the east of Thorncombe beacon last Tuesday after the fall.

Her owner Jane Tipper, 64, from Charmouth, said: "It was my birthday and we were walking with Molly off the lead in Eype near the cliff, as my daughter was going to take me to lunch at the café nearby.

"We walked through the first field and there were no animals, but unfortunately as we got to the next field there were two sheep and a lamb and Molly shot off after them.

"My daughter chased after Molly but she disappeared and the lamb went over the cliff too."

Coastguards attended the incident but Molly couldn't be found even though rescue officers were winched down the cliffs and officers conducted searches over a wide area.

"We had seen Molly running about on the mid-level of the cliff but didn't know where she had gone, whether she was running towards Seatown or West Bay."

Eventually they got in touch with voluntary organisation Dog Lost who put together posters, and a volunteer dog walker posted them all through Eype, but Mrs Tipper said they were forced to go home and wait in hope.

She added: "I didn't know myself, the house was so empty and all the places Molly would usually be, she wasn't. There were no walks either - it was awful."

Luckily a member of the public saw the posters and contacted Mrs Tipper on Friday morning to say they had found Molly.

"I kept thinking, I hope it is her because you just don't know, but it was her, and it was lovely to see her, I was so relieved," Mrs Tipper said.

She added: "Molly obviously scaled the cliffs and found her way back - I don't know how she did it."

"She was very pleased to see me and pleased to get back home. She was starving hungry and since then she's been asleep because she's very tired.

West Bay Coastguard issued advice, saying: "Always keep your dog on a lead whilst walking on the cliffs as most dogs especially smaller ones can not see the cliff edge, and never, ever attempt a self rescue."

"I will definitely keep her on a lead in future," Mrs Tipper said, "I usually put her on a lead but I didn't think we were that close to the cliff edge - she just ran off so quickly."

Asked if she was still planning on celebrating her birthday, Mrs Tipper said: " I think I will forego that until next year - I'm exhausted."