Cat freed from Middlesbrough garage gap in purr-fect rescue

Firefighters had to remove bricks from a garage wall to free a cat that had fallen into a 3in (8cm)-wide gap.

The pet called Kevin was stuck for several hours between a house and garage in Heselden Avenue, Middlesbrough, before neighbours heard its meows for help, the RSPCA said.

The cat was found to only have a swollen knee after being freed in a two-and-a-half hour rescue mission.

The RSPCA said it had been the "purr-fect rescue".

Cleveland Fire Brigade carried out the rescue with the assistance of RSPCA animal rescue officer Shane Lynn.

Mr Lynn said: "Kevin had fallen into such a tight gap his body was squashed into a width of about three inches.

"He really was unable to move and was obviously very frightened and we think he had been there a couple of hours.

"Often in these situations we use specialist poles to grasp trapped animals but in this case we could not reach the cat.

"It was decided the only way to free him would be to go through the garage wall which the homeowner kindly agreed to."

Mr Lynn said Kevin's microchip allowed the RSPCA to find his owners who were "extremely grateful to see him".

"It turns out Kevin moved into the neighbourhood with his owners only four weeks prior to his adventure - so he has already made quite the first impression in the area," Mr Lynn said.

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to northeastandcumbria@bbc.co.uk.