London Fire Brigade spends £200,000 on saving animals in a year... including £978 on rescuing two hamsters

Two hamsters were saved at a cost of almost £1,000
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The London Fire Brigade spent over £200,000 saving animals in the past 12 months - including two hamsters at a cost of £978.

Crews were called in to save 542 animals between July 2015 and June 2016, costing the service £202,446 in total, according to new figures.

The LFB said it was called out to an animal rescue job on average of once every 16 hours.

One of the hamsters was stuck in a cavity wall in Mawneys, Havering, and the other was trapped below floorboards in a house in Merton, south west London.

The figures also reveal how four squirrels cost £1,304 to save.

One was trapped in a bathroom in Lambeth, another in the wall of a flat in Bow, east London and another just down the road in a flat in Canning Town. The last got stuck in a boiler unit in Swiss Cottage, north London.

Rescue operation: Firefighters helping a horse

Pet owners are not charged for animal rescues.

Cats made up almost half of the animals saved - with the rescue of 277 felines costing £102,364. In comparison, 92 dogs were helped - setting the service back £31,622.

A total of 107 birds cost the service £40,750, while 18 foxes cost £7,172. Some of the more unusual rescues included a ferret trapped in a lift in Kingston and a trapped tortoise in New Malden - both in south west London. A chicken got stuck in a tree in Stockwell, south London, while a snake on the loose was caught in a flat in Holloway, north London.

The LFB worked out the figures on the basis that it costs £326 per hour to fund a fire engine and crews. Animal owners who call the service are not charged.

The LFB released the figures to urge people to call the RSPCA when they see an animal in need and not the fire service. It said that while animal rescues had decreased by 20 per cent in the past five years, the figures were still too high.

London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson, told the BBC: “If there is a cat up a tree, or an animal stuck anywhere, the first port of call should always be the RSPCA. When firefighters are out rescuing animals, they’re not available to attend real emergencies.”

John Grant, Chief Superintendent of the RSPCA, said the organisation was “always incredibly grateful for any help we receive from the fire service.”

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