SOLDIERS from Wattisham airfield were due to say a heartfelt thank you to the spaniel who saved their lives after they were swept away by an avalanche.

SOLDIERS from Wattisham airfield were due to say a heartfelt thank you to the spaniel who saved their lives after they were swept away by an avalanche.

The seven men from 662 Squadron of 3 Army Air Corps based at Wattisham near Ipswich were reunited with their hero, Breagh, a black Spaniel who rescued them after a training exercise in the Highlands almost turned to tragedy.

Six-year-old Breagh sniffed out the bodies of the colleagues of Lieutenant Jamie Murray who were buried in the snow following the accident in the Cairngorm Mountains.

She licked their faces and Lt Murray dug them out and gave them first aid before an RAF helicopter came to the rescue.

Lt Murray said: "We're obviously very pleased to be back safely in Wattisham. Luckily none of us has any serious lasting injuries. One soldiers is still on crutches, but otherwise we're all back at work."

Lt Murray and his seven colleagues based at Wattisham Airfield near Ipswich were doing adventure training on Coire an Lochan when the avalanche hit them and slid them down the mountain.

The soldiers were stuck in the snow for three hours before being airlifted off the mountain.

Five men where taken to hospital

Twenty members of three mountain rescue teams and two helicopters were sent to Coire an Lochan in the Cairngorm Mountains.

"We'd like to thank all of the groups that helped rescue us from the mountain – the search and rescue squadron from RAF Lossiemouth, the RAF Kinloss Mountain Rescue, the Inverness Air Ambulance and especially the Glenmore Lodge and Cairngorm Mountian Rescue teams," said Lt Murray.

The rescue teams were alerted after one of the 25 Suffolk soldiers in the group used his mobile telephone to alert emergency services.

The eight men were taking part in a winter skills exercise when the avalanche sent them tumbling down the mountainside.