THIS cat was chasing pigeons when it fell head-first into the metal gating between two floors of a car park in Wrexham.

The cat became trapped in a three inch gap and had to be cut free by firefighters.

An observant CCTV operator spotted the trapped cat and immediately alerted the RSPCA and the fire service and a fire engine was called to the scene at 7.47am on Wednesday.

Explaining how the rescue operation took place, White Watch incident commander Andy Williams said: “It was quite a delicate case because he was quite squashed between the railings between the second and first floor of the People’s Market car park.

“It had been chasing pigeons on the ledge of the second floor when it fell head-first into the gap.

“The cat had been there for a couple of hours when we got there – I think it had given up the fight.”

The cat, believed to be feral, had managed to pop its head through one of the metal gates but was too stuck to be able to turn around and get out.

Fire crews used an aerial ladder platform to get access to the cat and from there used an electric saw, angle grinders and bolt croppers to cut the metal around three sides.

“We left two clear squares on each side and then lifted the metal away, and the cat was put into a cat box,” Andy said.

“It was a really unusual rescue because the cat was well and truly stuck.

“Without fire service intervention I don’t think it would have been released and could have died there.”

The whole rescue took about 45 minutes and caused a bit of a stir with spectactors watching below.

The cat was taken away by Wrexham Cats Protection to be checked over.

It was a feral kitten estimated to be about 14 weeks old.

Cat care assistant from Cats Protection Wrexham, Kelly Eyre, said: “It was very stressed but was given a full check by the vet and was in full health.

“We released it back into the wild as it was too feral to be a pet.”