Fire crews to the rescue in Southend ...after Barney hops it (From Southend Standard)

Fire crews to the rescue in Southend ...after Barney hops it

12:00pm Tuesday 25th September 2012 in News By Lauren Hockney

BARNEY the bunny boldly went where no bunny had been before when he scaled a four-storey block of flats.

The family pet had to be rescued from the roof by firefighters, after he went on the run at the flats in Pleasant Road, Southend, on Saturday.

He managed to get out of his hutch on Sophie Witchell’s flat balcony, through some railings and then somehow climb on to the gutter and up to the roof.

Ms Witchell, 28, was alerted to Barney’s disappearance by her three-year-old son, Logan, who was worried where his beloved pet had gone.

Sophie and her partner, Grant Wyatt, 29, spent nearly two hours trying to coax the bunny down with lettuce leaves and carrots, before seeking the help of fire crews dealing with a blaze in nearby Hartingdon Road.

Ms Witchell said: “He was hanging on for dear life. I kept thinking he was going to fall down because he was slipping down the roof tiles as he got higher and higher.

“I was really worried about Logan, too. He was saying we weren’t going to be able to get him down and was trying to reassure him.

“Afterwards, he was giving the firemen high fives, though and saying ‘Fireman Sam saved Barney’, which was really lovely.”

Ricky Jones, leading firefighter on Southend fire station’s red watch, said the rescue had been a first for the crew.

He added: “We’ve got two guys on the watch who are retiring soon and they’ve never been to anything like it in 30 years.

“Normally, when we work at heights, we have the aerial ladder platform out, but couldn’t get it in, so that proved to be a problem.

“Working at height is a problem in itself. We have to make sure we’re safe as well.”

Mr Jones said two firefighters wore harnesses and used a roof ladder to reach the top of the building.

Then – after being given the runaround for almost 40minutes – they managed to trap Barney in a corner and put him in a pillowcase.

Residents from the other flats also stood by, holding towels in between their balconies to catch Barney.