A starving, abandoned puppy had a lucky escape when she was spotted by a maintenance worker abseiling down a block of flats.

The emaciated five-month old puppy was discovered abandoned and without any food in a flat strewn with rubbish and broken furniture by a man abseiling down a building.

The dog was lucky to be found when after a maintenance worker abseiling down the tower block saw her through the window of a 12th floor property in Stellar House, Tottenham, on December 22. .

He called The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), and animal rescue officer Lee Ricketts attended the address to discover the property had been left empty.

Police were called to gain access and free the dog, since named Chestnut.

Mr Ricketts said: “The poor puppy was cowering behind a broken bed frame and was carried out by the police, who handed her over to the RSPCA to be taken for immediate veterinary treatment.

“A vet assessed the puppy and predicted that if she had been placed in the property at a healthy weight she may not have eaten for around four weeks.

"The vet said that if she had been left even a few days longer, she would have likely starved to death.

“The puppy was incredibly fortunate that the maintenance worker had been working on the external walls of the building, something that would happen very rarely, and that he happened to spot her. Without him reporting it to us she almost certainly would have died."

He said thanks to the actions of the caller, his colleagues, Wood Green Police and Haringey Council the puppy was rescued and is now doing well in one of the RSPCA hospitals.

He added: “We would like to appeal to the public for more information regarding what happened to this poor puppy before being found.

"If you can help with enquiries please call 0300 123 8018, quoting incident number 01196311.”