Omagh's flying rabbit: Bunny rescued from roof after Storm Gertrude

Forget run, rabbit, run - this is a story that's all about fly, rabbit, fly.

The fire service rescued a rabbit from the roof of a bungalow in Omagh, County Tyrone on Friday morning.

Bumper the bunny was thrown onto the roof after Storm Gertrude blew his hutch over in high winds, said the fire service.

The pet was a hare's breadth from disaster - but managed to hold on until rabbit rescue arrived.

Bumper ended up on the roof after his hutch blew over in high winds

In the end, his airborne antics would be enough to make Bucky O'Hare jealous and puts a whole new spin on 'what's up, Doc?'

The rabbit was discovered on the roof of Woodbank House, a residential care home, after a night of heavy winds thanks to Storm Gertrude.

"We tried to figure out how on earth a rabbit would get on the roof," said Caroline Swift, a worker at the home.

"It must have catapulted when the big cage was blown.

"We knew we had to get it down and none of us could climb onto the roof because it was dangerous, so we called the fire service.

Fire service said a 'tasty carrot' was used to help Bumper down from the roof

"It took them a while but they were really good about it."

Ms Swift said the home is now considering a name change for their daredevil pet.

"We're happy to rename the rabbit Gertrude Bumper," she said.

David Doherty, the fire service's district commander for Omagh, said the rescue was "something a wee bit different on a Friday morning".

Bumper back on safe ground

"Usually for animal rescues, we would pass the details on to the USPCA but the circumstances to this were a little bit different as we were told the animal had been blown onto the roof by the wind.

"When the crew got there, they found the storm had caught the rabbit's hutch enclosure and catapulted the rabbit up onto the roof.

"It was quite easy for them to go up there and rescue the rabbit."

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service posted about the unusual rescue on Facebook and said it required "one short extension ladder, one reach pole and one particularly tasty carrot".