Figures show Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service helped 113 animals in peril last year

Cambridgeshire firefighters had to rescue ​more than two hapless animals from rivers, trees and other sticky situations every week last year.

National Fire Chiefs Council guidance says crews must be equipped to deal with incidents involving animals in peril, to prevent members of the public putting their lives at risk in rescue attempts.

Home Office figures show the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service attended 113 animal assistance call-outs in 2018-19 – an average of 2.2 rescues per week.

The rescues were among almost 5,000 carried out across England, with crews attending an average of nearly 100 calls every week.

Pet rescues made up the bulk of animal assistance call-outs in Cambridgeshire, with 45 incidents (40 per cent).

This was followed by livestock (31 per cent), with the remainder involving wild animals in need.

While fire and rescue services encourage people concerned about an animal's welfare to contact the RSPCA first, to avoid calling crews out unnecessarily, the animal rescue charity says the assistance of firefighters is a vital help to their officers.

A spokesman said: "We work closely with fire and rescue services across England and Wales and are incredibly grateful to them for support helping us rescue animals from tricky situations, as well as carrying out their own animal rescues.

"Unfortunately there are many times where it simply isn't safe for us to rescue animals, such as from heights or if specialist equipment and expertise are required, so collaborative working is vital in these situations to save animals.

"In these circumstances, we will sometimes request the help of firefighters but it's up to them if they attend, and emergencies involving people will always take priority."

Cambridgeshire's firefighters were most commonly needed to free animals who had got themselves wedged in tight spots or entangled, such as in fences or drain covers, with crews attending 50 incidents during the year.

​The next most common predicament was animals at risk in water or mud, accounting for 35 call-outs.

Altogether, in 2018-19 firefighters from the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service attended to:

50 animals trapped or entangled

35 water or mud rescues

21 rescues from heights

Four creatures retrieved from below ground

Three uncategorised incidents