LYING helpless in the mud of a Hampshire country park with only hours of daylight left, 73-year-old David Stead feared he would not survive the night.

After falling the pensioner was unable to summon help and his cries went unheeded.

But he says his two dogs’ actions saved his life by raising the alarm in the nick of time.

The grandfather-of-six was out for a stroll at the Lakeside Country Park in Eastleigh and walking around the lakes with canine companions retrievers Rosie, two, and Bella, three, when he came off the trail and fell on muddy ground, slipping backwards and hitting his head.

With no-one around and his leg stuck in six inches of mud, he struggled for half an hour to free himself, trying to use a tree branch which then broke.

But by the time had freed himself he was left too exhausted to get himself up again.

He tried calling for help but knew nobody could hear him because of the strong winds and he had left his mobile at home.

“That was my demise I thought,” said David, who was already cold and began to believe and believes that once people had deserted the beauty spot for the evening, he would have died of hyperthermia.

“I honestly believe I wouldn’t have survived.”

But luckily, David’s two dogs ran off and kept running back and forth between him and three fisherman on the lakes pestering them.

Sensing something was wrong because the two dogs had leads on, one of the fisherman followed and discovered him.

They called emergency medics and in the mean time gave David a and while one of the fisherman took off his coat and, another gave David a hat and gloves to keep him warm.

With the medics’ help they managed to get David back to his Eastleigh home.

He is now recovering slowly from his ordeal at home with relieved wife Paula, 48 and has no serious injuries.

“I think it was brilliant,” said the retired engineer.

“Dogs are We don’t give dogs enough credit – they’re far cleverer than we give them credit for.

“When they ran off I thought ‘oh god I’m never going to see them again’ but it wasn’t that - they were trying to get help,” said David.

“They knew I was in trouble and they persisted.

“Without the help of the dogs and the three fishermen I’d be dead now, I wouldn’t have lasted the night.”

David intends to return to the lake to thank the fishermen that came to his aid, but also said he wanted to thank the paramedics.

He also urged Eastleigh Borough Council to put up warnings for residents of how muddy the ground is off the footpaths.