A dog owner saved his pet's life by diving into a frozen pond to drag it out after the ice cracked - watch footage of the rescue below:
The dog became stranded in the ice yesterday morning after falling into the water in Victoria Park in Hackney.
That meant that the dog's owner had to dive into the freezing cold water to break the ice apart with his fists and rescue the stricken puppy.
In a video recorded by a bystander, the dog can be heard whining and crying for help as it struggles in the sub-zero water, before the heroic owner springs into action.
He swims out through the pond before scooping up the mutt and heading back to safety by wading out of the pond.
His actions then earn him a spontaneous round of applause and cheers from those watching from the side of the lake.
One person who witnessed the scene said that everyone was worried the dog could have died after spending too long in the icy waters.
Scott Bratton, who was walking in the park with his housemates, said: "It was quite scary, we were worried that if he doesn't get to the dog soon he might die. We could hear the poor dog squealing as he was trying to get out.
"Half of the water was frozen, half wasn't and the dog ran over the frozen bit and fell through a bit that wasn't frozen. People around us said the dog was trying to grab a duck when he fell in.
"The owner was shouting at him to get out but where the dog was so small he couldn't do it. The owner was weighing up whether to jump in or not and in the end he had to go in.
"He jumped in and started swimming but had to start banging the ice to get to the dog.
"It was so cold we were worried the owner might get hypothermia as well. It's not something you see in the park every day.
After getting into the predicament by chasing a duck on the ice, the puppy was spotted later in the park chasing after a squirrel, which is altogether a safer pastime. Well, possibly not for the squirrel.
As for the owner, here's hoping he had a nice hot meal and a cup of tea after his exploits. Maybe something even stronger to really get rid of the chill.
Mr Bratton added: "We carried on walking further down the park and the owner caught up with us and we saw the same dog trying to chase a squirrel, so I think he was fine, just a bit wet."
Featured Image Credit: SWNSTopics: UK News, Inspirational, Animals, London