Cat on a cold Telford roof

Wednesday 5th January 2011, 10:16AM GMT.

Angel on the roof in Hadley Park Road, Leegomery

When three-year-old Angel climbed on the roof a Shropshire home on New Year’s Day, the cat could have had little idea about how much of a stir she was causing on the ground.

Neighbours looked on in disbelief as the feline remained on the rooftop of the Telford home.

Food was left out in a bid to lure the moggy down and residents kept an eye on the animal wondering what to do.

Firefighters and RSPCA officers were even called out to try to rescue the cat.

But after a five-day stalemate, and as a fire crew got within touching distance of Angel, the cat quickly made her own way down from the chimney breast of the two storey house on Hadley Park Road in Leegomery.

Neighbour Sharon Howells, 33, was the first person to spot the cat on the roof.

She said: “On New Year’s Day me and my dad went up to the fire station to see what they could do, we didn’t want to call 999.

“They said to phone the RSPCA who would advise us on what to do.”

Neighbour Cliff Bradley, 55, said: “I think what’s happened is the fireworks on New Year’s Eve have frightened it. We did have quite a few fireworks that night.”

After Angel came down, Shaun Howden, an officer with the RSPCA, said: “The animal isn’t injured and it’s not in trouble, it’s just a bit scared.”

Ian Leigh, of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service which sent an aerial ladder and crew to try to rescue the cat yesterday, said: “Members of the public were obviously concerned about the cat and using the aerial platform is the only safe way of getting up there.

“It’s an understandable concern but we work with the RSPCA to establish if they require our assistance.

“You can see the amount of resources it can take so people should only make contact with the RSPCA or ourselves if they really think it’s an emergency.”

RSPCA spokeswoman Calie Rydings said: “A stranded cat will be left for a certain amount of time while it appears to be in good health.

“Usually if food is left for the cat at the bottom of the house it will find its own way down.”

By Paul Mannion

As help approaches the cat decides to get down under his own steam

View more: Leegomery news, Telford news.

1
Andy

January 5, 2011 at 19:21

How come if a human calls out a fire engine to an RTA to perform genuine rescue work, potentially saving lives, there is a charge, but it seems they are always available to rescue half wild vermin?

I take it the owner didnt get charged for the call out?

If we have fireman sitting around on full pay available to do this type of work then I would submit that we have too many firemen, time to save some council tax!

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- Jeffrey Borra
  
  January 6, 2011 at 13:34
  
  As a retired fire officer let me reply, in the case of rta’s it is the insurance company that pays ( they make enough money) Rescues like this are good training sessions as F/f’s get to use the equipment in different locations getting them familiar with carrying out rescues, next time it may be a human who requires rescueing. It is sizing up the building and how to effect the rescue efficiently and safely, with the equipment available, also it is classed as humanitarian service, after all we are a nation of pet lovers.
  
  Report abuse
  - Andy
    
    January 6, 2011 at 13:48
    
    Jeffery,
    
    “in the case of rta’s it is the insurance company that pays”
    
    and where do you think they get the money?
    
    Report abuse
    - Me
      
      January 10, 2011 at 09:06
      
      The insurance company will get their money back by hiking up the premium of the driver at fault for the accident.
      
      It’s only fair that negligent drivers ultimately end up paying towards the cost of the emergency call out in this way, it shouldn’t all be left to the taxpayer.
      
      Report abuse
2
Dave

January 7, 2011 at 11:43

So the fire service isn’t called out and Joe Bloggs has to get his old wooden ladder out to rescue the cat. He climbs the ladder and then crawls up the tiles to the chimney. As he does this a tile comes loose, Joe slips and ends up falling 30 feet. He survives the fall but spends the next 7 weeks in hospital. Joe used to work as a haulage driver but the injuries to his spine means he’ll no longer be able to work, he can hardly walk. He receives ongoing medical care from the NHS and lives out the rest of his days on disability benefits.

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- Andy
  
  January 7, 2011 at 12:21
  
  That has got to be the most pathetic hypothetical I have ever heard.
  
  What about the hypothetical of a chemical incident on an industrial estate that gets out of hand because the fire crews are delayed by five minutes due to being on this waste of time non-job?
  
  Those vital minutes allow for an explosion that sends tonnes of toxic gas into the atmosphere, killing 10 and poisoning hundreds. Ongoing symptoms of exposure to such toxic gas causes the offspring of those affected to suffer genetic abnormalities leading to a life of disability for potentially thousands of innocents.
  
  See Dave? We can all make up some nonsense to justify our opinion.
  
  The owner should have been charged for the call out as a motorist would have been.
  
  Report abuse
  - Andrew Owen
    
    January 7, 2011 at 12:34
    
    I think I’ve seen that one. Wasn’t Steven Seagal in it?
    
    Report abuse
  - Dave
    
    January 7, 2011 at 18:38
    
    OK Andy, you think it’s pathetic, but according to the Health and Safety Executive, in 2008/09 there were 35 fatalities, 4654 major injuries and a further 7065 injuries that caused the injured person to be off work for over 3 days or more, caused by falls from height.
    
    I tried, but I couldn’t find any statistical data for ‘explosions sending tonnes of toxic gas into the atmosphere’.
    
    Eitherway, my intention was merely to highlight the potential hidden cost benefit of the fire service carrying out this kind of rescue, and protecting humans as well as cats. From a cost point of view, in my humble opinion, many thousands of ‘cat rescues’ could be made if it prevented a single occurrence of the kind I described.
    
    Report abuse
3
Tiddles

January 7, 2011 at 14:22

Andy,
Why are you such a miserable person ?
There was a happy ending :)

Report abuse
- Andy
  
  January 7, 2011 at 16:03
  
  Not miserable, realistic.
  
  We are in a period of unprecedented cuts in public services, and this is not an emergency. No way near.
  
  As pointed out previously, can you explain the logic behind not charging the owners of this animal when human beings have to pay to use the fire service.
  
  Come on, tell me why we, the tax payers, should subsidise cat owners who cant control their animals?
  
  Report abuse
  - Dave
    
    January 7, 2011 at 18:06
    
    As pointed out previously Andy, the logic behind not charging the owners is to prevent people attempting to make a rescue themselves when they are neither suitably equipped nor trained to do so safely.
    
    The result of the event was that the cat got down safely; the owners and other concerned citizens were grateful for the help of the fire service; no one got hurt attempting a d-i-y rescue; no other fire or rescue incidents were neglected; the fire crews gained valuable experience of using their equipment in a non-familiar but non-stressful situation; everyone when home happy (almost everyone).
    
    Not a bad outcome really.
    
    Report abuse
4
MJ

January 7, 2011 at 17:29

If the fire service use this type of callout as a training exercise I can’t see any problem. I am sure that if an emergency call came in when they were doing it they would abandon the exercise and go to the emergency.

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5
E T

January 10, 2011 at 08:57

Whine whine, whine, that’s all you get on these pages thse days.

Actually Andrew Owen, think that was an Arnie film!

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6
marco

January 10, 2011 at 10:37

I wonder if I could get them to come out and clean my gutters? I struggled over the weekend and didn’t do the job properly as the ladder was a bit rickety and my wife was more worried about the gunk falling on her head than holding the ladder securely.

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7
Marksman

January 10, 2011 at 11:23

I cant believe someone considered calling 999 before walking to the fire station. What they should have done was call the local shooting club. one man with his rifle would soon have sorted the situation out. Cheaply, safely and a benefit to the wild bird population, as another mass murderer is taken off the streets.

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- Rob, Telford
  
  January 10, 2011 at 13:02
  
  “I cant believe someone considered calling 999 before walking to the fire station.”
  
  Neither can I – because they didn’t. The clue is in the 7th paragraph:
  
  She said: “On New Year’s Day me and my dad went up to the fire station to see what they could do, we didn’t want to call 999″.
  
  I can’t believe that you would consider recommending that someone breaks the law by shooting a pet cat – you’re not the “one man with his rifle” by any chance, given your user name?
  
  Report abuse