Everyone knows the stereotype of firemen rescuing cats from trees, but one firefighter was forced to wait 12 years for his first feline rescue.

West Norwood Crew Manager Chris Barton successfully completed his first rescue last night, when his crew were called to rescue a kitten which had been stuck up a tree since Saturday.

The RSPCA called the crew to Knollys Road, at about 11pm last night after discovering the kitten had been unable to make its own way down.

Despite the dark, firefighters were able to securely put the ladder up in the wooded garden and use a fishy treat to tempt the kitten down.

Crew Manager Barton said: "I thought it was going to be a bit tricky and that we might have to have waited until the morning because it was dark when we got there, but it turned out ok.

"I got to the top but every time I reached for it, it climbed further up. In the end we used a tin of sardines to tempt it down.

"I have been a firefighter for 12 years and people always ask me about rescuing cats up trees, but this was my first time.

"It was very exciting and the kitten was very cute."

The kitten is being cared for by the West Norwood branch of the RSPCA.