Memphis the puppy rescued by firefighters from footwell of van after rush hour pile-up

When the van he was in was involved in an horrific pile-up, it could have been curtains for Memphis the puppy.

The one-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier got wedged in the footwell of the Vauxhall Vivaro he was in when it was involved in a rush hour collision.

Firefighters rushed to the scene of the crash on the A500 near the Barthomley junction in Staffordshire just before 8am on Friday.

One of the drivers, a woman in her 20s, suffered some leg bruising, while a man in his 30s was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital.

Firefighters from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service spent almost an hour using hydraulic cutting equipment to free grey-and-white Staffie Memphis – who was miraculously uninjured.

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A fire service spokesman said: “At 7.57am crews were called to report of three vehicle collision half a mile from Barthomley junction.

“Crews from Sandyford and Newcastle attended and used hydraulic cutting equipment to free a small puppy called Memphis from the foot well of a van involved. Miraculously the puppy was uninjured.”

A West Midlands Ambulance spokesman said they were called to the crash at 7.50am.

“We treated the driver, a man in his 30s, of one of the vehicles and he was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital,” the spokesman said.

“We also assessed a woman in her 20s who had got some leg bruising. She did not require any hospital treatment.”