The hamster and the Hoover

When a hamster got stuck help came from an unlikely source

Henry the hamster got trapped in a kitchen pipe but he was sucked to safety with the help of a vacuum cleaner.

Henry lives in Tamworth, England with his owners and when the Royal Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (RSPCA) couldn't get Henry out of the pipe his owners called out two wardens from the local council to help.

The wardens tried to free Henry using hamster ladders and chocolate bars tied together but couldn't quite reach him. So they carefully sucked him out of his hideout using a special nozzle attached to a vacuum cleaner and making sure he didn't get sucked into the bag.

Henry was taken to see a vet for a check-up. He was unharmed apart from being a bit thirsty and having worn-down nails from scratching around in the pipe.

This is a very rare rescue because you would never usually put a vacuum cleaner close to a hamster, as this could be dangerous for the animal.

But after a day of trying to rescue Henry experts decided this was the only way he could be saved.