This is the heartwarming moment three puppies were rescued from under a pile of junk after their mother went missing.

Mylha Tungul, 42, and a young neighbour lifted the old, rusty metal roof sheets to save the puppies who were crying for help on June 27 in Masbate City, the Philippines.

The animal lover said they had been hearing the puppies crying for a few hours before she decided to check. They waited all afternoon and searched the surrounding streets but there was no sign of the mother.

He said: "I thought it was my neighbour's puppies who were crying, but when I went out to buy at the store I heard it was coming from the abandoned lot."

Her neighbour's children who live next to the lot saw her and helped her carry the metal roofs so they can take the puppies trapped underneath.

At first, she thought it was just puppies that was trapped underneath, so she was shocked when they saw that the mother was with the babies.

She added that the mother dog might have hid there to give birth but had not returned to the den.

Mylha plans to adopt all three puppies and their mother so they can all be together.

She said: "So far the puppies are as healthy and I already set a schedule for their vaccines next week."