Their owners had put up posters in the area soon after they noticed them missing. Watch manager Roy Grundy from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said: 'The dogs had been missing for a couple of days and their owners had put posters up in the area.'

'When we arrived just after 1am, the two dogs were stuck around 20ft down a sewer pipe. We worked slowly and carefully to get them out.'

A firefighter wearing breathing apparatus was sent down into the sewer pipe on rope rescue equipment and rescued the dogs one by one. The dogs were pulled 'wet, dirty and bedraggled' but were ok, from the 20ft pipe shortly after 1am.

RSPCA deputy chief inspector Ben Strangwood said: 'It was a difficult rescue, but we managed to get these two dogs out and return them to their owners, who were desperate to get them home. They've been missing since Monday and were no doubt in need of some TLC but were very happily unhurt.'

'We don't know how they came to be in the manhole, as you'd think if they'd fallen they would have been injured, but all is well that ends well.'