A pet dog was tied in a black bag and thrown into a canal before being rescued by kind-hearted locals.

Tawan Chanthakanok, 27, was working across the road from the water when he heard the pooch crying in Chonburi, eastern Thailand on Tuesday (January 7) morning.

The chef looked for the origin of the sound and with the help of passers-by, they noticed the large black bag on the banks of the stream.

Tawan called the emergency services who climbed over the 13ft high fence and used a rope to winch the exhausted pooch to safety.

It is believed to have spent the night inside the sweltering hot bag as temperatures outside soared past 30C - all without any food or water.

Tawansaid: "I spent some time looking for the dog but I did not find it until later the locals told me there was a dog was dumped inside a garbage bag.

"I wanted to reused it right away but the fence was too high for me to climb so I contacted the rescue team instead."

The exhausted dog was taken to an animal rescue centre to be nursed back to health and put up for adoption.

Tawan added: ''When the dog was brought up it was hardly breathing and too weak to move. The police told me that the dog could have died if it had been left just a few hours longer.

''I cannot understand how anybody could be cruel enough to treat a poor little dog like this.''