Lucky Flea the cat rescued by firefighters after getting stuck in well in Kettering village

A lucky pussycat has used up one of its nine lives after being rescued from a 20ft deep well in a Kettering village after meowing for help.

Flea the cat had gone missing from its Loddington home for about a week when its concerned owners had heard meowing coming from a grille-covered well.

Crews from Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service's Wellingborough-based Animal Rescue Unit and Rothwell used a ladder to enter the narrow, water-filled shaft and found Flea.

The black cat had managed to avoid drowning in the foot of water by climbing on to a higher ledge and was coaxed to safety in the one-hour rescue mission by use of cat snacks.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews from Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service were called today, Tuesday May 4, at 2.53pm, to a property in Main Street, Loddington, where there had been reports of a cat stuck down a well.

"On arrival at the scene, a crew from Rothwell and the Animal Rescue Unit from Wellingborough, were advised by the owners that their cat, called Flea, had been missing for about a week and that they had today heard a meowing coming from the 20ft well.

"[The] fire crew used cutting equipment to remove the grating at the top of the well and lowered a ladder to the bottom enabling a crew member to descend.

"The well was under approximately 1ft of water, but the cat had managed to climb onto a small ledge for safety.

"Flea was enticed off the ledge using cat food and was brought to the surface and handed back to its happy owners."