Tadcaster fire crews chop up sofa to free trapped cat

Cocoa the kitten got stuck after crawling under the sofa, fire crews said.

Firefighters chopped up a sofa to rescue a kitten after it got its head stuck in the seat.

Crews from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service used hacksaws and bolt cutters to free 12-week-old Cocoa, who was "wriggling around in panic".

The cat's owner Emma Clark, from Tadcaster, said: "Without them she absolutely would not be here."

Station manager Bob Hoskins said: "Cats up trees is a common one, but a cat in a sofa is a first.

"It's a very rare occurrence, and fortunately on this occasion it all turned out ok."

The kitten was "making quite a lot of noise" but was not injured, he added.