This is the moment a frightened cat was rescued after getting stuck 60ft up a rotten tree – by nine firefighters.
Mischievous kitten Tinkerbell scrambled up a monster 60ft tree after being startled by a dog in Worlebury Woods near Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.
But owner Sophie Clarkson, 18, couldn’t coax the timid tabby down with treats and milk, and the cat was stranded in the branches overhead.
After a whole day of trying the student and her family called the RSPCA to help, and they in turn rallied the fire department.
A fully manned pump came to the rescue, and all nine firefighters chipped in with their extra long ladder to retrieve the ”terrified” one-year-old cat.
Sophie said: ”She went missing on Saturday and then my boyfriend went for a quick search in the woods and called her name.
”He heard her meowing and went in, and saw her 60 foot up a tree. He came and got me and my family and we tried to get hold of the RSPCA.
”She was 60 foot high, and that was on the first set of branches on the tree. There was no question of jumping down to lower branches. She was terrified.”
The Clarkson’s believe Tinkerbell had gone up the tree after going missing on June 26th.
They found her on the evening of the 27th and after being unable to coax her down the fire department was summoned on the 28th.
Sophie’s mum Louise Clarkson, an animal management lecturer, added: ”Tinkerbell was meowing and she was exhausted – she hadn’t slept for 3 days for fear of falling off the precarious branch.”
On the morning of the 28th a pump fully crewed with nine firefighters attended the scene to aid the distressed moggy.
As the tree was rotten firefighters propped it up with one ladder and used a second 13.5 metre ladder to climb up to Tinkerbell.
The cat was so distressed as soon as the firefighter on the ladder was in range she leapt onto his shoulder, completely ignoring the bag he’d brought to haul her down.
She was returned to the grateful Clarksons and is now happy and healthy at home.
A spokeswoman for Avon Fire and Rescue said the reason so many firefighters attended the scene was due to the pump needing to be fully manned at all times.
She said: ”We received a call from the RSPCA as a referral because they required our assistance.
”Our firefighters travel in a pump where there is a certain amount of riders in an appliance in case there is another emergency that they need to go on to.
”Also, to ensure health and safety since they were using ladders it was essential for multiple personnel to be used.”