A TERRIFIED cat is now back safely with its owners after spending two days up a tree in Shipley.

Andy Harrison, of Acespeed garage in Briggate, Windhill, said he had phoned the RSPCA a number of times to report the cat which had been crying and shaking since Thursday morning but it hadn’t done anything about it.

“I called Shipley Fire Station and they said I’d have to ring it through on 999 to get a pump out when one was available. So I did.

Mr Harris said: “We tried all sorts ourselves to get it down. It’s a black cat, lucky for some but not for itself. We tried getting to it on ladders but we couldn’t get any long enough. We even left food out on tops of the cars to try and tempt it down but it didn’t move an inch.

“The tree is halfway up a cliff at the back of the garage and the tree must be another 30ft high.”

Ronnie Goldwater, station commander with Bradford fire station, said it had been a difficult rescue.

“The cat was frozen with terror and we had to cut quite a few branches to be able to get near to with a hydraulic platform. We were here with the RSPCA for quite a while. It wasn’t the easiest of rescues we’re ever done but we got there in the end and the cat is now happily back with his owner.

“He certainly wouldn’t have managed to get down on his own because it must have been at least a 40ft drop. At least it’s all ended well after all our efforts.”