Tyne and Wear firefighter ends service with cat rescue

Micky Longstaff has now retired after 22 years fighting fires - and rescuing cats

When long-serving firefighter Micky Longstaff got his final callout, he thought his colleagues were playing a prank.

Instead, the 50-year-old, who has fought fires across Sunderland and South Tyneside, was faced with the ultimate rescue - extracting a cat from up a tree.

He said: "I always get asked 'do you really rescue cats from trees?'."

Thankfully for the adventurous moggy, the answer this time was yes.

Mr Longstaff said: "We were called by the RSPCA who had been trying to get the cat down but were struggling due to how flimsy the tree was.

"When you usually turn up to these sorts of rescues, you'll pitch your ladder and the cat will quite happily jump down before you even get up there, but this one was different.

"I was sent up to rescue the moggy in our aerial ladder platform alongside a new firefighter who'd never used the equipment before.

"I thought it was quite fitting that my last job, on my last shift, with some of my closest friends, was to rescue a cat from a tree."

The cat at the centre of Micky Longstaff's final job was returned home unharmed

Marley Park Station Manager Lee Bell thanked Micky for his long service with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service.

He said: "Mick has been a dedicated firefighter over the past 22 years, he sets a wonderful example and will be a big miss on station.

"With it potentially being the last job Micky was going to be attending on behalf of the service, it was only right that he was the one to go up and get the cat.

"We can't always attend every animal rescue around the region, but when we can help the littlest amongst us we will be there."

The stranded cat was checked over and returned unharmed to its owner, ready to put the next generation of firefighters to work.