An amused crew of firefighters had to rescue an adventurous kitten from 20 meters up a tree - managing to get the beloved pet safely back into the arms of his owner after an hours-long effort. 

Lynx, a 7-month-old kitten from Rowlands Gill, Gateshead, managed to get himself stuck 20 meters up in a tree, which was growing out of a ravine near his home. 

After a few different attempts, firefighter Natalie Barnes had to ascend the tree and safely retrieve Lynx, and reunite him with his appreciative owner - who is "thanking his lucky stars" that the young cat is home safe. 

Fire and rescue services are only able to attend animal rescues if they are not needed elsewhere, so brave firefighter Natalie and her crewmates are pleased to have got to help Lynx on this occasion. 

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A spokesperson for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said: "A 7-month-old moggy is thanking his lucky stars after he spent one of his nine lives during a dramatic rescue.

"Lynx gave his owners a real scare when he managed to get stuck 20 metres up a tree, which was rooted down a ravine near his home.

"Just after 4 pm on Friday, our Fire Control team received an emergency call to report the feline trapped in Rowlands Gill.

"We had resources free in the area so answered the call, and went to try and use our expertise to save Lynx from the tree.

"The initial idea was to erect one of our 10.5m ladders and encourage the frightened moggy to use it to climb down… but he was too terrified to move.

"So up stepped Ff Natalie Barnes who put on a specialist harness and ladder restraint equipment to ascend the tree and safely retrieve Lynx."

At only seven months old, Lynx is a juvenile and is still testing the limits of his own abilities, meaning he is more prone to getting himself into sticky situations.

Despite the stereotypes, crews of firefighters infrequently get to attend animal rescues, as other kinds of emergency take precedence - so getting to help a cat out of a tree is uncommon.

People were quick to find the funny side of the situation, with one person saying: "I had to ring a few years ago because my cat was stuck in a tree. I felt daft calling, I had to assure [the Fire Service] it wasn't a prank."

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