North Shields kitten trapped in wall rescued by firefighters

Tubs had only been in his new home for six hours when he went missing

A kitten who had only been in his new home for six hours had to be rescued by firefighters after becoming trapped behind a bathroom wall.

Danielle Douglas called the service to help find eight-week-old Tubs who vanished while she was making his bed.

The 22-year-old from North Shields had tried playing cat noises to lure him out of his hiding place.

However, she realised he was trapped and would have to be freed by firefighters.

Ms Douglas, a care worker, said: "One minute I was watching him curled up asleep on the floor, the next moment he'd disappeared into thin air.

"I had an idea to search the internet for mammy cat purring noises that I could play around the flat. This worked as the kitten responded to the sounds.

"The resulting meowing was coming from behind the bathroom wall.

"I was beside myself with worry as I thought that the kitten would be petrified as he was just getting used to his new surroundings."

Danielle Douglas said firefighters were very gentle with him

Tubs had managed to crawl through a gap between the tiles and toilet pipes into a hollow wall.

After an hour of unsuccessfully trying to retrieve him, Danielle rang the fire service.

The crew located the kitten and removed some of the tiles and bath panelling to get to him.

Station manager Martin Farrow of the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said they were pleased the incident had a happy ending, adding: "Throughout the working week our firefighters get dispatched to a variety of different jobs in the community.

"There's never one day that is ever the same."

Ms Douglas said: "The firefighters were really gentle with Tubs and made sure that we were both okay before they left.

"They even did a safe and well check on my smoke alarms on their way out."