When washing machine engineer Roy Rex took his dog for a walk on Southend seafront he had no idea his van would be going for a sea rinse.

Mr Rex ran into trouble when he parked his van opposite the Halfway House pub on Eastern Esplanade to walk his dog.

But as he went to open the back, his van rolled into the sea - with the dog still in it.

He said: "I put the brake on half heartedly, got out to let the dog out and the van went straight in the water.

"The thing is, my dog wouldn't get out of the back, so I had to wade in and get him. It's just a good job the tide was going out."

Mr Rex, who runs EC Domestics from his home in Seaview Drive, Great Wakering, is now waiting for the van to dry out to see if it still works.

But it wasn't all bad news - Mr Rex would like to thank a kind passer by named Brett who gave him a lift home.

Picture: STEVE O'CONNELL

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