Rabbit rescued from third storey roof

Firefighters carried out an unusual rescue in Essex after a pet rabbit escaped its hutch and crawled onto the roof of a block of flats.

Three-year-old Logan Witchell was distraught when Barney the bunny went missing from his second-floor flat in Southend-on-Sea.

His mum Sophie Witchell, 28, spotted Barney on the roof of the three storey block and tried to entice him down with lettuce and carrots.

But she, and partner Grant Wyatt, 29, were forced to give up after two hours and ask for help from firefighters battling a blaze in a neighbouring street.

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.

"I was really worried about Logan too. He was saying we weren't going to be able to get him down and was trying to reassure him.

"Afterwards, he was giving the firemen high fives though and saying: 'Fireman Sam saved Barney', which was really lovely."

Ricky Jones, of Southend Fire Station, explained that firefighers had to use a roof ladder to get to the stranded bunny.

He said: "We've got two guys on the watch who are retiring soon and they've never been to anything like it in 30 years.

"After a bit of a run-around, we managed to corner the rabbit and grab it. The child and his parents were obviously thrilled to get it back."