Unusual rescue from block of flats

Barney the rabbit went missing from his second-floor flat in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and was found slipping on the roof tiles at the top of the building.

Much to his three-year-old owner Logan Witchell's upset, the rabbit escaped from his cage and climbed all the way to the top of the three-storey block of flats. Logan's mum Sophie Witchell, 28, and her partner Grant Wyatt, 29, spent two hours trying to entice him down.

Despite their efforts with carrots and lettuce, Barney stayed put, so the couple were forced to seek help from nearby firefighters, who had been battling a blaze in street closeby.

Miss Witchell said: "Barney was hanging on for dear life. I kept thinking he was going to fall down because he was slipping down the roof tiles as he got higher and higher.

She added that Logan gave the firemen high fives and said: "Fireman Sam saved Barney!".

Ricky Jones of Southend Fire Station, commented: "We've got two guys on the watch who are retiring soon and they've never been to anything like it in 30 years… The child and his parents were obviously thrilled to get [the rabbit] back."