Tiny ladder used to rescue hamster trapped inside pipe

Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Animal rescuers in Britain said they constructed a tiny ladder to rescue a hamster that spent nearly a week trapped inside a pipe.

The RSPCA said animal welfare officer Alison Sparkes responded to a Bridgwater, Somerset, England, home after multiple attempts to rescue Jamie the hamster from the pipe failed.

"Jamie was being looking after by a friend of his owner when he escaped and went down a [4-inch] wide pipe that housed the water pipes," Sparkes said.

"This vertical pipe was [3 feet] deep. The gap between the water pipes he squeezed through was about 4cm wide and was impossible to look down the pipe due to the pipes inside it," she said. "They'd dropped a piece of thin rope down hoping he would climb up but after six days, still no luck so they called us."

"We knew he was OK as they'd been dropping food down and could hear him eating so I went home and cut a [3 foot] long ladder from some old wire mesh, then went back, fitted it in the pipe and that evening he emerged. Very thirsty, but OK," Sparkes said.