FIREFIGHTERS in Somerset don’t just put out building blazes and pull people free from crushed cars ... figures obtained by the County Gazette show that nearly ten times a month on average, they are called to rescue cows, horses, birds, cats, dogs and a host of other animals.

A Freedom of Information request revealed Somerset firefighters carried out 93 animal rescue operations between April 1 last year and January 31 this year.

In Taunton Deane, four birds, ten domestic pets and four farm animals were rescued. Two pets and two farm animals were rescued in West Somerset.

Neil Demmar, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service’s group manager for Somerset and a specialist rescue advisor, said: “We have eight instructors across Somerset specially trained in animal rescues and the training in this area is improving all the time – we even have a life-size dummy horse with moving parts to help our training.

“The majority of our rescues involve horses and cows but we also get the odd sheep or snake, a hamster trapped behind a cavity wall, or even a cat stuck up a tree.”

The County Gazette also obtained figures which reveal that firefighters freed 45 people trapped in lifts in Somerset over the same period, including 15 in Taunton Deane and two in West Somerset.

See Thursday's County Gazette for more on this story.