A THREE-legged dog from Alcester who nearly died after getting into a compost bin and eating poisonous waste has now got a new lease of life.

Loveable border collie Bandit used his nose to slide the bin’s hatch open, then munched through toxic food and garden remains.

Foaming at the mouth and shaking uncontrollably, four-year-old Bandit was rushed to a vets by owner Jeanette Pugh.

It was feared he had a brain tumour.

But after nine hours on the critical list, he pulled through.

The drama happened just three months after poor Bandit had to have his left hind leg amputated.

Against the odds, Bandit recovered full mobility after the amputation and even learned to swim again - only to come a cropper in the compost bin.

Teacher Jeanette, 51, said: “Bandit really has been through the wars. But he’s got tremendous spirit.

“We were at a friend’s house getting ready to go on holiday when suddenly Bandit started to shake.

“I could feel his heart absolutely racing and I began to panic. We’d been through so much with Bandit I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him."

Jeanette phoned Vets Now – which arranged for Bandit to be admitted immediately at their clinic in Coventry.

With no obvious sign that he had eaten anything untoward, staff feared Bandit had a brain tumour.

Jeanette meanwhile returned to her friend’s house to look for any clues as to what had happened.

She said: “We’d seen him sniffing around the compost bin earlier while he was out in the garden but didn’t think anything of it.

“But when we went back, we saw the hatch at the bottom of the bin was open.

“So Bandit has come along and managed to slide the hatch across - which you have to say is pretty ingenious when he’s only got three legs."

The vets diagnosed mycotoxocosis, which is poisoning by products contaminated by fungi such as mouldy food.

He was given intravenous fluids and medication to rid his body of the toxins.

Jeanette added: “The amputation was in January and this happened last month, so he’s been through a lot.

“But when you look at Bandit now, he’s totally back to normal. We’re just back from holiday and he was running around and swimming in lakes like nothing had happened.

“But we’ll be making very sure he doesn’t go near any compost again.”