PEDIGREE kitten Bella used up one of her nine lives by getting stuck in the roof of her owner's home in Ruardean.

Caroline and Mike Overthrow, who bought the cat back in October, returned from shopping but couldn't figure out where the five-month-old British Blue had gone.

The crafty kitten had got through a loft hatch in one of the top floor bedrooms at around lunchtime on Sunday and started roaming around behind the walls.

It was only when Caroline and Mike heard the cat crying within the kitchen ceiling that they realised what had happened.

"At first we could hear her in the house but we couldn't find her anywhere," said Mike.

"We always say 'where's the cat' when we get in as she's often off hiding somewhere.

"After a while we realised she was somewhere above the kitchen, in the ceiling.

"It's an old property that's been changed around over the years and Bella must have fallen 7ft down a cavity wall and got stuck there.

"When we realised there was no way we could get her we called the fire brigade."

A fire crew from Cinderford came out to the Overthrow's house in the High Street and set about rescuing Bella. They knocked a hole in the ceiling to locate the cat and Mike grabbed her when she appeared around four hours later.

Cinderford Fire Station manager Gareth Clowes said the rescue was reasonably straightforward.

"The job required a fair bit of thinking as we didn't want to rip the house to pieces or have to call extra people out to help," he said.

Caroline said: "I think curiosity almost killed the cat.

"I am so glad to have her back and the fire service did a great job of rescuing her."