Fireman Sam leads 'heroic' rescue of pigeon stuck up tree

Fire-fighters toiled for almost an hour to save the trapped bird, which had become tangled in wire and was dangling from a tree in Catherine Road yesterday evening.

A Surbiton fire crew had to use a makeshift pole with a tied-on Stanley knife to cut free the pigeon in peril, with a firefighter cheered on as 'Sam' bravely climbing the ladder.

The bird was spotted by former Surrey Comet reporter turned curtain twitcher Rachael Burford’s eagle-eyed flatmate, who was left “almost in tears” as the drama unfolded. Miss Burford rang the RSPCA, which then contacted London Fire Brigade (LFB) to send a crew to rescue the pigeon.

One fire engine from Surbiton fire station attended, but could not get near to the trapped bird with their ladder. It wasn’t until firefighter Sam, as he was referred to by the crew, tied a Stanley knife to a large pole when the pigeon was rescued and handed over to the RSPCA.

Overall it took almost two hours from calling the RSPCA to seeing the bird rescued, which despite surviving the fall from the tree witnesses say may have lost a leg.

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