A WIRRAL RSPCA inspector will speak about his life-saving mission to Malawi in a special edition of Channel 5's The Dog Rescuers.

Set to be screened as part of a special episode at 8pm on Tuesday, August 14, Anthony Joynes visited the east African country to join forces with the RSPCA's Lilongwe Society for the Protection and Care in Animals (LSPCA) so methods of practice could be shared between the two charities.

As part of his trip, Insp Joynes ran a rabies vaccination session which will help save the lives of hundreds of dogs, including humans but he also experience the horrors faced by dogs on a daily basis in one of the world's least developed countries.

Just hours after teaming up with Manchester-based vet Riaz Rehmu, the pair came across an injured stray dog at the side of a busy road as they were driving towards their hotel and immediately put their life-saving skills into practice during the risky rescue.

Insp Joynes said: “There is a big problem with stray dogs in Malawi, with people struggling to feed their own families they obviously can’t afford to have their pets neutered.

“I just spotted this dog lying at the side of a busy road and he didn’t look alert so we turned back to go and check on him and could see immediately he was not in a good way, he looked injured and was very thin.

“We had to try to rescue him without scaring him into the path of oncoming traffic and we were also aware of the risk of rabies but we managed to help him into the van and he was rushed off for treatment.”

The team called the golden retriever-type dog Madidi and after some tests he was later found to have a chronic leg problem and was also suffering from a horrific tick infestation.

Thankfully Madidi has recovered well and it is hoped he will be rehomed soon.

One of the main priorities of the LSPCA is to offer neutering and also rabies vaccinations to help tackle the deadly disease which kills around 500 people a year and many dogs.

Insp Joynes added: “We went to a remote area of Senga Bay about 120 kms from the nearest vet and set up a makeshift vet clinic - under a tent - so we could vaccinate dogs against rabies.

“This is so important as not only are we saving the dogs from suffering a horrible disease but also saving people dying from rabies too.

“But as we were vaccinating dogs and doing health checks I came across one dog which had a broken leg among other medical issues and was really struggling.

“I asked what had happened and the owner said the neighbours had stoned the dog because they were worried it may have rabies.

"There is no cure for rabies, so people are very scared of being bitten by a rabid dog.

"With no vet for over 100km, sadly sometimes people resort to stoning dogs suspected of having rabies, another reason why the vaccinations are so important.

“The owner of this dog also told us he had another puppy injured at his home, so we went and found this pet also in a terrible state.

"The pup had collapsed in pain, had hundreds of ticks in each ear and the way the mouth was positioned suggested the dog potentially had rabies.

“It was so frustrating because everything I believe in at home is about saving animals lives and bringing people to justice but these dogs could not be saved.

"The kindest thing to do was to put them to sleep to stop them suffering a long and lingering death.

“It was heartbreaking for me and it was a really tough emotional day, but it was also a relief to know they didn’t have to be in pain any longer.

"I did the best I could for the animals to stop unimaginable suffering.”

This is the second time Insp Joynes has visited Malawi, the last time was in 2014 and back then as part of the same television show he rescued two puppies from road-side sellers.

On his return to the country earlier this year he found the illegal street trade was still as active as ever.

During this special episode, the 33-year-old and the team from the LSPCA, go undercover with the police to tackle the issue.

The RSPCA inspector pretends to be a potential buyer to lure in the sellers and he succeeds in catching out someone selling kittens in soaring temperatures who are suffering from heat exhaustion.

Insp Joynes also manages to save two puppies which were illegally sold for a few pounds from the side of the road

Many people who buy these dogs are unaware of the potential diseases that they carry due to them being unvaccinated.

Anthony said: “It is a big problem in Malawi that people breed animals in terrible conditions to make some money but often they don’t survive because they have contracted awful diseases.

“Breeding is making a bad situation worse as there are far too many dogs in the country already and nowhere near enough responsible ownership at the moment.”

The LSPCA are also working to educate the next generation of Malawians on animal welfare.

Insp Joynes added: “Children are being told not to throw things like stones at dogs because they are more likely to bite if you attack them and if they do have rabies this could be fatal.

“They are also told not to approach sick dogs and instead call the LSPCA out - educating the young is a great way to change attitudes but ultimately more financial support is needed to help the LSPCA continue their fantastic work.”