A three-month-old puppy miraculously survives swallowing a metal tent peg that was almost as long as its body. Disa, a Staffordshire bull terrier, was taken to a local veterinarian with what was thought to be an upset stomach.

However, an x-ray later showed the problem was an eleven-inch peg. The hospital staff said, "We suspected a foreign body may be to blame but didn't expect it to be so big. We operated immediately to remove it as it could have proved fatal."

Owner Peter Jones, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, said he put Disa in the garden to play for a few minutes. When she started showing signs of illness, he thought the food had upset her.

He said, "I was so shocked when the vet rang to say they had discovered an eleven-inch tent peg in her abdomen. I can't even understand how she managed to swallow it, as she isn't much longer than the peg itself."

Disa is now back home after a full recovery.