A LUCKY cat owes its remaining eight lives to firefighters who carried out a daring rescue when it was trapped under Clifton Bridge in York.

RSPCA officers were alerted to the river bank near their animal home on Landing lane after a canoeist spotted the cat.

They told the fire service the distressed tabby cat was stranded in a drainage hole on a support beam in the middle of the fast-flowing River Ouse just above the water line.

A water rescue team from York Fire Station attended the scene along with a team from Acomb.

Firefighter Andy Fenwick was attached to a safety line and swam out to the animal in a dry suit.

He said: "I managed to reach up and grab it out of the hole and put into a bag. It didn't put up much of a fight except for a lot of miaowing. I think it thought it was better off out of the hole."

Animal collection officer Sue Edmond said: "The cat was taken to York animal home where it is now recovering. It is in quite reasonable condition and has no injuries. We don't know how long it was there. It was not wearing a collar."

The RSPCA are appealing for the owner to come forward. Their telephone number is 01904 654949.

Assistant manager of York Animal Home Ruth McCabe said: "The firefighters were absolutely brilliant. There is no way the cat would have been saved without them."

York Animal Home is staging a midnight dog walk tomorrow to raise money for the centre. Anyone who can help meet at the home in Landing Lane at 11.30pm.