A HAMSTER has been rescued by the RSPCA after getting stuck in a patio door in Cumbria.

Mike was found trapped in the gap underneath the glass door last Tuesday night (February 18).

Mike’s owner Jessica Appleton and her little boy have had the Syrian hamster for around three months. She said: “I got up on Tuesday morning and he had chewed a hole through the plastic base of his cage.

“I hunted high and low for him and put food out but there was no sign of him. Then, I noticed that a stray cat I feed seemed to be staring at something and when I went to look it was Mike! He’d somehow got into the cavity under the patio door and there was his little nose sticking up!

“It was such a cold night and I put a water bottle and an electric blanket as close to him as I could to get some heat to him. He was crying, my little boy was crying, it was awful.

“Mike was really lucky and I’m so grateful to the inspector for coming to help.”

RSPCA inspector Will Lamping said: “I was on shift on my own and two hours away when the call came in.

“I tried my best to advise Mike’s owner over the phone and she got a local vet out to help but they couldn’t get to him.

“He was becoming more and more distressed, crying out and trying to reach his owner and ended up getting more and more stuck, then his owner noticed he had some blood on him.

“We were really worried that he might be hurt and getting cold so I made my way over to see what I could do.

“It was 4am when I got there. The owner had already removed some screws from the frame and I was able to get some tools in underneath the plastic and lever it up so there was a gap big enough to get a few fingers to him and ease him out. I took him straight to a vets to be warmed up and checked over.

“The whole event was very stressful for poor little Mike and it has taken him a few days to get over it. But I’m so happy to hear that he is now feeling much better.”