Firefighters were called to the aid of a 10-week-old puppy after she became trapped in a reclining sofa in St Helens.

Unbeknownst to her owners, shih tzu Joy had crawled underneath the recliner part of the sofa on the evening of Saturday 11th January, quickly becoming trapped when the chair was used.

After spending close to 45 minutes trying to get her out themselves, and with no vets available to attend at that time of night, Joy’s owners reluctantly dialled 99 and asked for the fire service to attend their Sutton home.

Firefighters from St Helens Community Fire Station were on the scene in Yarn Close within seven minutes and quickly went to work, cutting, unscrewing and dismantling the reclining mechanism to free little Joy.

Watch Manager Keith Williams attended the incident with Red Watch and explained: “Joy’s long hair was very tightly entangled in the long screw part of the mechanism. It was a slow process as every time we unscrewed something or made a cut in the metal, the puppy yelped loudly, making it very stressful for everyone.”

After using various tools, including a pedal cutter, crews were able to release Joy from beneath the sofa but with the mechanism still attached to her, a trip to the vets was needed.

WM Williams added: “The vet sedated her and managed to shave around the attached mechanism to remove it. He then carried out two x-rays to check everything was ok.

“It all ended well with Joy getting the all clear – apart from a bruise and a new bald patch. Joy’s owners were really grateful for our help – we’re glad to hear she’s happy and recovering at home.”