A dog has gone missing along the west Dorset coast.

The Shar Pei, named Shadow, slipped its lead earlier in today (Friday) and ran off just to the west of Thorncombe Beacon.

It's not been seen since.

Friends and family members had been searching the cliffs throughout the day as well as launching local appeals on social media but to no avail.

West Bay Coastguard Rescue Team was called to assist in the search.

After speaking to the dog's worried owners, coastguards searched high risk areas to ensure that members of the public were not putting themselves in danger whilst searching for Shadow.

The team checked the cliffs, and an officer attached to ropes was also put onto the cliff edge to have a good binocular search of the mid and lower cliff levels.

Unfortunately, no sightings of Shadow were made and once searches were complete, the team was stood down. 

If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Shadow, please contact his owners via: 07854 086442.

If Shadow is found to be in a place of difficulty, do not attempt rescue, instead call 999 and ask for the coastguard.