Animal rescues cost London Fire Brigade £13,000 a month

A chimp stuck up a chimney in Tower Hamlets, and a snake on the roof of a mosque in Camden are just two bizarre animal rescues that London firefighters have been invovled in.

New figures released by London Fire Brigade (LFB) show that last year rescuing little creatures cost around £13,000 a month.

Other animals that fire crews have come to the aid of in the past include a fox with its head stuck in a bucket on the roof of a shed in Newham, a squirrel trapped on a satellite dish in Wandsworth, and a hamster trapped in a fire place in Waltham Forest.

Firefighters have also rescued a cat trapped in a letter box in Hounslow, and a squirrel stuck in a bin in Wandsworth.

LFB went to a total of 557 animal rescues in the 2014/15 financial year, each costing at least £295, even with the minimum number of firefighters deployed.

Cats contributed to 287 of all animal incidents the Brigade was called to, while dogs accounted for less than a third with 82 call outs.

The Brigade said the number of animal rescues it has been involved in has decreased thanks to a successful awareness campaign, but firefighters have urged the public to contact the RSPCA as a first port of call to deal with stranded critters.

London Fire Brigade Director of Operations Dave Brown said: "We will always be there in an emergency but not all animal rescues need our help.

"As well as being time consuming, animal rescues cost the tax payer and I'm sure most people would prefer their money was being spent on training or fire prevention work, than cats up trees.

"If an animal is injured or in distress please call the RSPCA's 24 hour helpline on 0300 1234 999 or go to rspca.org.uk."