A STRAY kitten has led firefighters a merry dance after deciding to hide in its new home - and is still refusing to be rescued.

Firefighters cut away a wall and used a thermal imaging camera to try and find the shy creature inside the house in Havelock Street, Oswaldtwistle.

They then reverted to a more conventional method - tempting the animal with food - but without success.

Lisa Singleton, 16, who lives at the house with boyfriend Roy Poole, 30, rescued the tabby kitten a week ago, after seeing it dodging traffic in Union Road, Oswaldtwistle.

Firefighters from Oswaldtwistle yesterday spent more than two hours looking for the kitten, which disappeared through a hole in an attic wall on Saturday.

Although the kitten has reappeared in Lisa's house briefly, it has refused to come out of the wall, and is believed to found its way into an unoccupied house next door.

Now Lisa and her family fear the young animal may starve if it does not emerge soon. Garry Drinkwater, leading firefighter at Oswaldtwistle Fire Station, said: " We cut away one side of the wall, and searched using a thermal imaging camera, which did not show anything up unfortunately.

"We also tried coaxing the kitten out with food, and banging on the floorboards to see if it would run out.

"I think the kitten will probably come out when it's hungry. We've done everything we possibly can."

Lisa said: "When I found the kitten it didn't have a collar on and I haven't given it a name as I don't know if it's male or female."

Lisa's mum Lynda McCarthy, 42, of Duke Street, Oswaldtwistle, said: "I rang the RSPCA and they told me to put food out, and the kitten would come out when it was ready.

"Lisa is asthmatic and she's getting really upset about it."

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