Little and large: Tiny chihuahua abandoned by bins becomes best friends with nine-stone mastiff

A tiny chihuahua found abandoned between two rubbish bins has been rescued - and become best friends with a giant mastiff 120 times his size.

Digby the tiny pooch, who is just five-weeks-old and weighs less than 1lb, was found moments from death outside a block of flats.

He is now recovering at the Southridge RSPCA Animal Centre at South Mimms after he was found severely dehydrated and cowering in South Mimms, near North London.

And while on the mend at the RSPCA Rescue Centre, he has become inseparable from giant black mastiff Nero, despite their enormous size difference.

Nero is so big he eats the equivalent weight of four Digbys in dog food every day.

Natalie Ditchfield,  RSPCA animal collection officer, added: ‘It is so lovely to see he is safe and happy.

‘When I first came across Digby he was frozen and shaking and had just been left to die. He's really tiny - small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.

‘He seemed to come out of his shell as soon as we arrived at Southridge and spotted Nero. It really is a love story.’

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Nero the gentle giant was rescued by the centre manager Anna White and spends his days with her at the RSPCA.

Anna said: ‘It was as if the little fellow took on Nero as his personal minder.

‘Poor Digby had to be rescued once by the RSPCA and it seems like he is taking precautions to make sure nothing can happen to him again.’

The RSPCA is appealing for information in a bid to trace Digby’s owner.

Unless an owner comes forward, he will be available for rehoming in the coming days.