A cat was given oxygen by fire crew after it was rescued from the river by two members of the public at Freedom Bridge in Wisbech.

The rescue has prompted a plea for members of the public to call 999 immediately and not put themselves in danger when rescuing animals.

Station Commander Matt Murdoch said: “Firefighters are specially trained to rescue animals and to carry out rescues in water and while these two members of the public successfully rescued this cat, they put themselves in serious danger to do so.

“If anyone sees an animal trapped and in distress, we would urge them to dial 999 and wait for the fire service to arrive to carry out the rescue rather than risk your own life.”

The incident happened at 9.35am on Sunday (24) when a crew from Wisbech was called to reports of a small animal in water near Freedom Bridge.

Two members of the public saw the cat in the river and rescued it.

A fire spokesman said firefighters gave the cat oxygen and took it to a vet practice in March, where it is believed it made a full recovery.