Roofer to the rescue as kitten is trapped on top of house

ROOFER Nick Siddall came to the rescue when a family's kitten got trapped on top of a house.

Nick, aged 56, was called to De Tany Court in St Albans to rescue Gus, an eight-month-old kitten who had been stuck on the icy roof for two nights.

The Beard family, who have owned Gus since last May, discovered his whereabouts when daughter Chloe, aged 13, whistled for him and heard him miaow a reply from the roof of their neighbour's house.

Chloe, her 11-year-old sister Georgina and their parents Duncan and Judith spent hours trying to coax the scared kitten down but after two days of failed attempts, their neighbour decided to call local roofer Nick for help.

Nick, who works for Stormproof Roofing, arrived at around 5pm and, despite never usually working in the dark, he quickly launched a rescue mission. He said: "It was a risky task because the roof was so slippery and I couldn't see much at all.

"But Gus's family looked so worried so I thought I had better have a go. Also, my wife's a big animal lover so I knew she'd be happy if I came home and told her I'd saved a kitten."

Nick had to use two ladders to reach Gus, who was trapped behind the chimney. After grabbing Gus by the collar, Nick managed to wrap him in a blanket and then reverse back down the ladder to deliver him to his grateful owners.

Duncan gave Nick a bottle of champagne for saving Gus and said of the saga: "The stress and panic was unbearable, especially for the kids. We spent ages trying to coax Gus down but he was too scared to move because of the frosty roof.

"Nick the roofer is a hero and I'm pleased to say that Gus has fully recovered and is off exploring again."

Nick said that he was considering adding "cat rescuer" to his job title and added: "It was my good deed for the day and it certainly livened up my week! I celebrated at home with my champagne and a very proud wife.