A Cocker Spaniel has been hailed a hero after saving an elderly woman's life in Fort William.

The woman in her 70s had fallen down a bank out of sight when William, a care home's ten-year-old resident pooch, led his walker to her.

William was out for a walk with mini-bus driver David Stafford, who takes pensioners to a day-care centre, when the pair discovered the woman.

Mr Stafford said: "William was behaving strangely. Instead of his normal barking and running at ducks or the deer, he was standing and wagging his tail, like he was barking to alert me to something.

"When I got closer I realised there was a person lying on the ground. I thought it could be someone who was lost, but it turned out to be an elderly lady.

"I didn't know her, but she was very disorientated, and shivering like she was hypothermic. When I tried to get her up and walking she couldn't do it. She was just saying, 'help me, help me'.

"I phoned an ambulance and they came really quickly.

"They're the real heroes here."

The woman is now said to be recovering well in hospital.

William is a rescue dog, originally from Cyprus, who had been living with a family in Aberdeen before arriving at the care home last year following a social media campaign to find a four-legged friend for the residents.

He's no stranger to stardom.

Last year, William hit the headlines when the local community helped raise more than £8000 to allow him to undergo a hip operation.