21 Firefighters, 6 Vehicles Sent To Rescue An Injured DUCK

 

Twenty-one firefighters and six vehicles were sent to rescue an injured duck from a pond.

The call-out in Cheshire cost taxpayers an estimated £2,000.

It was uncovered by a Sunday Mirror investigation which suggests the cost of calls to help animals since 2010 has been £12million.

London Fire Brigade was involved in the most animal rescues, with 1,800 call-outs over the last three years, including freeing a pregnant dog with its head trapped in a cat flap.

LFB, which is axing 520 jobs and closing 12 fire stations as it tries to save £45.4m, was sent to a dog “in a precarious position”, another “stuck in a coffee table” and a “fish in distress” in an operation costing £1,450.

The Sunday Mirror uncovered the call-outs using Freedom of Information requests.

Ten firefighters in Cornwall spent an hour trying to coax an escaped iguana down from a house roof, and 29 helped free a cow stuck in a bog.

Five of the county’s firefighters also spent 11 minutes bringing a cat down from a telegraph pole.

Crews in East Sussex went to the aid of a chinchilla in a bathroom, while in Lincolnshire a team of four saved a pigeon from a tree at a cost of £200.

Nineteen Cheshire firemen tackled a goose on a lake in a 125-minute operation, while 19 freed a pigeon from netting.

Four Suffolk firemen took five minutes to release a predatory cat after it got its head stuck in a hamster cage while trying to attack the rodent.

The county’s firefighters also helped a moggy with its head stuck in a rat trap, while a team of six spent nearly 50 minutes rescuing a squirrel stuck in a car engine.

Crews in Surrey helped a Jack Russell stuck in a pipe, and Kent Fire and Rescue were sent to the aid of a collapsed elephant, while 15 appliances were dispatched to help a horse stuck in mud.

The Royal Berkshire Fire Service helped a deer and a horse stuck in separate swimming pools, while in Gloucestershire an 11-strong crew rescued cygnets from an island. In Hertfordshire a crew of 14 helped “to rescue a hawk from a height”.

Experts said an hour-long rescue involving a crew of six and a fire engine cost taxpayers £300.

If all the fire services attended a similar number of animal rescues, the total bill would hit £12million.

The Chief Fire Officers Association spokesman for animal rescues Bob Ratcliffe said: “Our first priority is public safety, our second is animal welfare.

“We want to make sure that the public do not put themselves at risk.

“In the first instance, we would always ask people to call the RSPCA who will attend and assess the situation, and may contact the Fire and Rescue Service for assistance.”