Tadcaster fire crews chop up sofa to free trapped cat

Image source, PA

Image caption, Cocoa the kitten got stuck after crawling under the sofa, fire crews said.

Firefighters chopped up a sofa to rescue a kitten after it got its head stuck in the seat.

Crews from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service used hacksaws and bolt cutters to free 12-week-old Cocoa, who was "wriggling around in panic".

The cat's owner Emma Clark, from Tadcaster, said: "Without them she absolutely would not be here."

Station manager Bob Hoskins said: "Cats up trees is a common one, but a cat in a sofa is a first.

"It's a very rare occurrence, and fortunately on this occasion it all turned out ok."

The kitten was "making quite a lot of noise" but was not injured, he added.