Firefighters and RSPCA rescue elderly cat from Harrogate building

Firefighters and the RSPCA rescued an elderly cat that got stuck on a ledge outside the fourth storey of a building in Harrogate.

The animal charity responded to reports of an animal in distress at the office building on the corner of West Park and Victoria Avenue.

The cat, called Alfie, had climbed out of the office window and wouldn’t go back in.

Claire Mitchell, deputy chief inspector at the RSPCA, attended but was unable to get on to the roof so she summoned help.

Read more:

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue sent a crew with a cherry picker vehicle to rescue the ginger and white cat.

However when the firefighters eventually reached Alfie, he decided he could make his own way down.

Ms Mitchell said:

“Cats are very agile and seem to like getting themselves into a spot of bother sometimes and Alfie is no exception.

“He must have climbed out of the fourth storey window onto the roof and got himself into a pickle as he couldn’t get back down.

“We were very grateful for the fire services who attended to help rescue Alfie — although it seems as though Alfie was less grateful as he got spooked by the cherry picker and managed to get himself down from the roof after all!”

Alfie did not suffer any injuries during the ordeal and quickly ran off down the road to be reunited with his worried owner.

Harrogate district floods: homes, cars and cows rescued

Emergency services in the Harrogate district have had a busy day rescuing people trapped by floodwater in their homes and cars — as well as saving a herd of cows.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service responded to reports of cattle stuck on the Ure bank in Ripon just before 2pm.

The river level in the area increased rapidly from below one metre to almost four metres today.

Appliances from Ripon, Richmond, Colburn and Selby used water rescue equipment to save the herd before leaving the incident in the hands of North Yorkshire Police.

Crew from Knaresborough and Wetherby rescued a female driver stuck inside a vehicle in flood water in Cattal shortly before midday.

Minutes earlier, firemen had removed water from a flooded home in Masham after the river burst its banks.

Read more:

At around 4pm crews in Ripon also rescued an elderly man from a car after he had driven into flood water.

Flood warnings remain in place for the River Nidd in Knaresborough and the River Ure at Masham.

The government’s flood information service posted an update on the situation in Masham this afternoon, which said:

“Please activate any property flood protection products you may have, such as flood barriers and air brick covers, and stay away from fast moving water.”