IT’S not every day a real life cliché comes into play — but that was the case when a cat belonging to the mayor of Camelford managed to get stuck so high up a tree that the local fire service had to be called out!

Bella, a nine-month-old Bengal cat living with mayor of Camelford, Kirsty Ferguson, and her daughter Livvy, found herself in a sticky situation last week when she got stuck in a tree — so far up that the RSPCA advised that the fire service should be called out to rescue her.

Kirsty and Livvy became worried when Bella hadn’t been seen since 5pm on Thursday, so on Friday put out an appeal on Facebook for local people to keep an eye out for their young cat.

It then came about that Bella had climbed up a tree, but a little too far, it seemed, as she was unable to get down.

Kirsty said: “It was completely out of character for her. We spent a couple of hours looking for her and Livvy slept downstairs hoping she would come in. The next morning, before her exam, Livvy decided to go and look again and heard Bella crying when she called her name. Bella is half Bengal and is nine months old. They have a distinctive call.”

Kirsty and Livvy became even more concerned when they saw the company Bella was keeping in the tree.

“Livvy rang me and said she had found her, but she was up really high in the tree at Camelford ambulance station,” Kirsty continued.

“I walked around and there she was, about 40ft up, surrounded by rooks, who were angry that she was there!”

She said: “A call to the RSPCA, and they felt that as it would take them a while to get to us, and the likelihood that they would need assistance from the fire brigade, they would call them immediately — a, to get Bella down, and b, to stop any more stress to the nesting birds who were trying to attack her.”

Crews from Delabole Community Fire Station soon came to the rescue, quickly surveying the situation and deciding on the best approach, as the branches were flimsy further up. Firefighter Nathan Smith climbed the ladder and retrieved Bella without a struggle.

Kirsty added: “She was exhausted by this point! I wish to thank the RSPCA and Delabole crew for their quick response and assistance in getting Bella to safety.”