A squirrel has been rescued after getting stuck in an unusual situation.
A Leeds local was walking through Woodlea Drive on Tuesday when they spotted the animal with a roll of toilet paper stuck on its head.
The RSPCA were called but once they arrived they realised the squirrel had run 30ft up a nearby tree, so the fire brigade had to be called in for an unusual rescue operation.
Using specialist poles they were able to coax the animal down, free it from the loo roll, and release it nearby – all within an hour of the first call.
RSPCA animal rescue officer Dave said: ‘It was a good job the squirrel was spotted as he would have been unable to feed and was obviously terrified.
‘Litter is one of the biggest hazards our wildlife faces today – and it’s something that’s very easy to resolve.
‘We would always urge the public to take extra care to dispose of their rubbish responsibly so animals aren’t hurt.
‘We’re grateful to the firefighters for their help – it’s a great example of what we can achieve together for animal welfare.’
This particular call was one of thousands the animal charity received on Tuesday. They received 4,060 calls to its incident line – on average six every minute during opening hours – with 1,775 of those investigated by RSPCA staff.
Summer is their busiest time for receiving calls, usually peaking in mid-July.
Normally the RSPCA receives around 91,500 calls per month, but in July and August the number jumps to around 133,000 a month.
Tom Buckley is hub manager of the RSPCA’s national control centre, based in Wath-on-Dearne near Barnsley.
He said: ‘We take more than a million calls a year but summer is our peak time.
‘The calls we receive are heartbreaking – our dedicated call takers never know what they will hear when they answer the call, but it can range from a report of animals being beaten, shot, abandoned or poisoned.
‘Our call handlers know they can make a difference because, working together with frontline rescuers, they can help save lives and coordinate rescues of all types of animals.
‘That’s why we need the public’s support more than ever to help Cancel Out Cruelty so our call staff and frontline rescuers along with centre and branch staff, can work together to help all those animals in need.
‘As we are so busy, we have information on our website which gives advice on if people can help the animal themselves if it is safe and possible to do so, or if the RSPCA isn’t the most appropriate organisation to call.
‘This really helps free up our cruelty line and our frontline rescuers to focus on investigating the heartbreaking cruelty and neglect cases which flood in over summer.’
Unfortunately this isn’t the only recent case of squirrels getting into sticky situations – as earlier this year a red squirrel got its head stuck in a manhole cover in Germany.
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