A dog was weighted down, thrown in a Burnley canal, and seemingly left to drown in a “shocking” incident.

On Saturday (May 11), a Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross was found in a canal, behind Banny's Drive Through and Restaurant on Trafalgar Street.

A volunteer from the Lancashire Lost Dog Network, Carla Jade Binns, was contacted by a member of the public.

Lancashire Telegraph: Chance, the Staffordshire bull terrier cross, was left to drown in a Burnley canal Chance, the Staffordshire bull terrier cross, was left to drown in a Burnley canal (Image: Jonathan Howarth)

The dog, later named Chance by rescuers, was found by a member of the public named Peter Flynn.

The dog’s harness had been weighted down with lead and rocks and the dog was seemingly left to drown. The dog was found alive and removed from the canal.

Jonathan Howarth, founder of the Lancashire Lost Dog Network, believes that Peter was “in the right place at the right time” and stopped the dog from drowning.

Jonathan said: “As you can imagine we are all upset and justifiably angry that someone felt the need to drown him instead of reaching and getting help from a rescue.

“I've given him the name Chance. After everything he's been through he's a typical Staffordshire bull terrier cross who loves everyone.

“I believe that if nobody had turned up he would have had further weights added or he would have slipped under the water from exhaustion.”

Jonathan said it is not the first time a dog has been found in the canal and believes “this wasn't a one-off incident.”

He said three XL bully dogs were found weighted down and drowned along the same stretch of the canal over the past few months.

Jonathan said: “If anyone has information they can contact us via lancashireldnetwork@gmail.com or message our Facebook page”.

A spokesperson for the RSPCA described the incident as “shocking”. Burnley Council added that it is aware of the incident.

A Burnley Council spokesperson said: "We're aware of these horrible incidents and are working with the police to try and identify and find the person or persons responsible.

"We'd encourage anyone with any information about this to contact the police [on 101]."

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “We’re so relieved to hear this dog is now safe, thanks to the quick and kind-hearted actions of the members of the public who stepped in to help.

“This is a shocking incident and we’d urgently appeal to anyone who recognises this dog or has first-hand information about what happened to report it to the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.”