A ‘LIFE-SAVING’ dog came to the rescue of his owner who slipped and broke his shoulder outside his home.

Archie, a four-year-old black Labrador-German wirehaired pointer cross, has been hailed a ‘hero’ for saving his owner Peter Chippendale, 66, who had fallen and broken his shoulder on Thursday just after 8am.

The Burnley fan was taking Archie for a walk near his Padiham home when he slipped on ice in Norfolk Avenue.

As he lay on the ground unconscious, Archie licked Peter’s face to try to keep him warm in the freezing cold weather.

Archie then chewed through his lead and ran over to a woman nearby and barked at her to get her attention.

She called an ambulance and two newspaper boys and a young passer-by went over to Archie’s owner and put their coats over him.

They all waited with him until ambulance crews arrived 15 minutes later and Peter was taken to Burnley General Hospital.

The former electrician is now back at home after the accident.

He said: “I don’t actually know what happened. I blacked out. I remember waking up in severe pain and could not get up.

“The dog was by the side of me licking my face and making sure I was alright.

“Archie is always like that. If a child falls in the street he goes over to them.”

Peter’s daughter Sarah, who walks Archie every day and was just a street away from the incident, said: “I was in my car outside the house when the neighbour came running and said 'your dad has fallen'.

“When I arrived all I saw was a stack of clothes on the floor from people who came running over to put coats over him.

“I took care of Archie and tried to get him home when he bit my arm because he did not want to leave my dad.

“Archie is the first dog we had but there seems to be something special about him.

“He is very intuitive and we see him as another member of our family.”

Burnley FC author Dave Thomas, who knows Peter from his work painting Burnley cards and pictures, said: “Archie should be the Burnley football club mascot and should be named the borough council hero.

“He is a fantastic dog and is quite unique.

“If the Greek gods had dogs Archie would be one of them.”