MILO the kitten had only been at his new home for three hours when a mercy mission was launched.

The little black bundle of fur got trapped behind a built in brick television stand.

Owner Louise Evans, 25, called the police and got the shock of her life when a fire engine arrived and five burly firefighters set about rescuing Milo at her home in Princess Street, Nelson.

Louise brought Milo and his brother Jake home around 3pm and by 6pm Milo had disappeared through a tiny gap next to the chimney breast.

"I'd gone out of the room and when I came back I saw one of the kittens but not the other," said Louise. "I thought it might have got out of the house but then I heard this miaowing coming from behind the bricks."

Fortunately Milo turned out to be a lucky black cat. The firefighters took a brick out of the wall, grab the frightened kitten and reunite him with Louise and her two-year-old daughter Ellie.