Buster was walking on the rocks with his owner, Nathaniel Bullock, of Longroyd Road, Earby, late on Monday afternoon when he suddenly disappeared.

Nathaniel and his friend, Sam Brewer, searched for the animal as temperatures plummeted to minus 8.5 degrees at the former Thornton-in-Craven quarry.

The teenagers went home eventually, but at 2 a.m. went back to the rocks with a cage containing a sleeping bag, blanket and water, covered by a coat of Nathaniel's which they hoped might entice Buster into the makeshift shelter if he managed to escape.

"Nathaniel and Sam were not sure at first what had happened, but someone told them later that that area is renowed for foxholes and for dogs falling down them," said Sam's mum, Mrs Alison Brewer.

The search continued on Tuesday, the families helped by 10 members from Wharfedale Mountain Rescue team, but there was no sign of the two-year-old terrier and hopes of finding it alive were dwindling.

But Buster proved he is a survivor as on Wednesday morning the family got a call to say he had been spotted in Cam Lane. He had scratches on his nose, cuts on his legs and the exposure had affected his chest, but otherwise all agreed his survival was "just amazing!"