HUNDREDS of pets have been rescued by the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service over five years, figures from the Home Office show.

Between April 2012 and March 2017, the service rescued 515 animals. They included 336 pets, 107 livestock and 72 wild animals, including birds.

Across England, there were over 23,000 callouts to save animals over the five-year period - an average of more than 4,500 a year.

Although the data does not state which animals were most commonly rescued, a previous freedom of information request showed that for many fire services, cats stuck up trees remained the most common animal rescue scenario.

It also showed that incidents over the period included helping a puppy escape from the mechanism of a reclining chair and trying to rescue a cat stuck in an underground drainage system at the Sunny Bank Mills site in Farsley in December last year.

Firefighters from Stanningley station attended after being called by the RSPCA, but the animal managed to give them the slip and they left a manhole cover open so it could leave by itself.

Animals being trapped was the most common reason for animal-related callouts in West Yorkshire between April 2012 and March 2017, accounting for 44 per cent of cases.

Other reasons included animals being stuck in water or mud or rescued from a height, or calls for assistance with lifting heavy animals.

On average, more than four firefighters dealt with each animal rescue.

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said that fire services often use the incidents for training purposes.

She said: "The RSPCA works very closely with the emergency services and the charity is always very grateful for any help it receives from them.

"Last year the RSPCA was called to collect or rescue 114,584 animals.

"In situations where RSPCA officers are unable to reach an animal that is trapped or injured, the animal charity can request the help of the fire and rescue service, though it is entirely up to them whether or not they attend.

"Some fire crews use animal rescues for training, but emergencies involving people will always take priority.

"In some cases, crews attend to minimise the risk of members of the public attempting to carry out rescues themselves and potentially putting themselves in danger."

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service added: "“We do get regular calls to rescue animals from household pets through to larger farm animals.

"We mobilise what we call a Technical Rescue Officer to the scene in the first instance as they have received additional training to be able to assess how best we can assist.

"We will often work closely with vets, RSPCA, pet owners and local farmers to ensure we rescue or release the animal with the least amount of stress possible.

"Like the vast majority of the public our staff and Firefighters are animal lovers as well and take this part of our role extremely seriously.

"This can also be an extremely hazardous part of our work, particularly when dealing with larger animals, as they can react suddenly in the first few seconds after release.

"It is pleasing to note, though that the vast majority of incidents we are called to conclude with a successful ending with the owner being re-united with their pets or animals."