WHAT started as a routine training session for the London Marathon took an unexpected turn when three friends dived into Siblyback Lake on Bodmin Moor to save a struggling sheep.

Aimee Turpie, Britney Lawrence and Abi Cox were midway through a 5km run around the lake on Wednesday afternoon (August 6) when they spotted what they first thought were two dogs chasing each other. Moments later, they realised one was actually a sheep being pursued into the water by a dog.

“The lake is quite deep and the poor sheep was just swimming around in circles,” said Aimee.

 Britney Lawrence, Abi Cox and Aimee Turpie rescued a sheep from Siblyback Lake (Picture: Aimee Turpie)
Britney Lawrence, Abi Cox and Aimee Turpie rescued a sheep from Siblyback Lake (Picture: Aimee Turpie) ( )

With no hesitation, Britney and Abi waded into the lake, still wearing their running gear and swam towards the animal.

“To be honest, I didn't really think about it and just dived into the water," added Abi. “The sheep looked like it was so exhausted and I think it would have died if it had stayed there much longer.

“When we got to it, we could feel the sheep was trying to float and as soon as we got it back to dry land, it just fell to the floor.”

Britney Lawrence described the moment as ‘definitely the most eventful run we’ve ever done’  (Picture: Aimee Turpie)
Britney Lawrence described the moment as ‘definitely the most eventful run we’ve ever done’ (Picture: Aimee Turpie) ( )

The friends, who work together at Steve Hoskin Construction in Pensilva, were helped by a passer-by in keeping an eye on the sheep until it eventually regained its strength and walked away.

Britney - who described the moment as ‘definitely the most eventful run we’ve ever done’ - said: “If it had been someone’s dog in the water, no-one would thought twice about trying to help it. It was great to help the sheep and we all felt good about it on the rest of our run.”

South West Lakes Trust, which manages the lake, said it was glad the sheep was now safe, before issuing safety advice for people walking dogs at its sites and to anyone who might consider entering the water.