An animal lover turned into a hero after she selflessly risked her life to save a dog from drowning in a lake. This came as England experienced one of the coldest winter nights in history. The woman plunged into the ice-cold water immediately after spotting a hound frantically trying to paddle its way to the embankment of East Park in Hull city.

Heroic woman jumped into the icy waters after spotting a dog paddling 20 yards away from the lake's embankment in Hull's East Park

Onlookers narrated that the unidentified woman forced her way through thick blocks of ice, to reach the white bulldog before carrying it to safety. This rare ordeal was hours after the country had braved its coldest night of the winter.

Some towns like Chillingham Barns in Northumberland experienced chilling temperatures of 11.7C in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

The unidentified woman, who dove into the freezing lake wearing only a t-shirt and trousers, has been lauded a hero

A witness present at the scene said: ‘I think an old man lost his dog and it had jumped in the lake and couldn’t get back out.

‘The dog became really distressed, the water must have been very cold and freezing.

‘I heard all the commotion, looked over and just got in the water and broke the ice to get to the dog.’

Park-goers then helped the woman out of the lake and covered her with coats as the dog wrung itself dry on grass nearby

The woman was lauded as a hero by all present park goers as they helped her out of the freezing lake. They then covered her with coats to keep warm.