Cat rescued from chimney by specialist firefighters in Bradford after it jumped down small chimney

A kitten which became trapped inside a chimney has been reunited with its owners after a rescue by the RSPCA and a specialist fire crew.

Firefighters in Bradford were called to Giles Street in the Odsal area of the city after the RSPCA was unable to get access to the cat on the roof of a terraced house.

The animal charity was called out after four-month old Murphy was spotted on the 25-foot roof of the property after going missing for more than two days.

RSPCA animal rescue officer Aleesha Haddlesey asked West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service to help her, but initial attempts to bring the cat down failed when the nervous feline jumped down a nearby chimney.

“Murphy went up onto the roof through a small hole in the loft space and there was just no way she could be reached and she wasn’t going to come back down through that space,” said Ms Haddlesey.

“She panicked and ran down the chimney and when the fire officers tried to reach her using a grasper plus a reach and rescue pole, they found she had dropped too far down to get to.

“[The firefighters] cut a hole big enough to reach in and then one of the officers managed to grab the cat and pull her out.”

Crew Manager Robin Hinsley said there were several challenges the crew had to deal with, including a number of telephone lines.

“With the back-to-back houses so close together we had a limited space to work in,” he said.

“What made it even more challenging was the web of telephone lines."

Murphy, who had been missing since 5 August, was later reunited with her owners unscathed.

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