A German Shepherd dog saved his diabetic owner's life when she was on the verge of unconsciousness.

Four-year-old Rommel raised the alarm when he noticed Wendy Kenward was having a hypoglycaemic attack.

Her blood sugar level had fallen dangerously low and she was at risk of blacking out.

Mrs Kenward said she awoke in the middle of the night with the symptoms of an attack - sweating and shaking uncontrollably.

She usually controls her blood sugar levels with insulin injections.

"I was nearly unconscious and I started shouting out," she said.

But Mrs Kenward's 67-year-old husband Charles was asleep in another room at their Wibsey home and as he is partially deaf, could not hear her cries for help.

"The dog came in and looked at me and then went into my husband and jumped on him," Mrs Kenward, pictured with her husband and her pet, said.

"When the dog jumped on him, he realised something was wrong."

She said Mr Kenward got out of bed and then could hear his wife's shouts.

Being a diabetic himself, he knew what had happened and that Mrs Kenward was on the verge on unconsciousness.

He quickly brought her round with a drink of apple juice. Mrs Kenward, of Farfield Grove, said she was extremely thankful for Rommel's alertness and quick thinking.

"He has not been trained or anything - he is just a pet," she said.

"I was totally amazed and overjoyed."

The part-time first aid teacher said Rommel had already surprised them with another talent.

Several times he has alerted Mr Kenward to the telephone ringing as the dog knows he cannot hear it.

"He jumps up and pats him with his paw to tell him the phone is ringing," she said.

And Rommel's abilities are all the more surprising considering he was thrown out of dog obedience school for being too disruptive.

"He was a puppy and we were asked not to go back again because he was barking and wanting to play with everything in sight," 64-year-old Mrs Kenward said.

"He is very playful and full of life. His intelligence is amazing."

A spokesman for charity Diabetes UK said: "In this case the dog really was man's best friend as hypoglycaemic attacks can be serious.

"People with diabetes should test their blood glucose regularly and a snack before bedtime may help avoid night time hypoglycaemia."