Owl trapped for five days in chimney

AN owl has been rescued after it managed to survive for five days in a chimney.

The Little Owl – a breed of small owl – is just five inches tall.

Jim and Deborah Campbell, of Big Barn Lane, Mansfield, had to have the fireplace removed to rescue the bird.

They took it to Terry Marsh, of the Bird Rescue Service in Mansfield, who said the bird was lucky to be alive.

He said: "The owl came to me all covered in soot. It was all black. If the fire had been put on the fumes would have killed it straight away.

"To have lasted five days is very unusual. There was nothing for it to eat, nothing to drink."

The Campbells believe the owl got stuck on Friday. They heard scratching noises in their chimney while redecorating the lounge on Saturday morning.

Jim, 40, said: "At first we thought it was mice. We had an engineer around to remove the gas fireplace and saw this owl. It was only about six inches tall.

"They don't usually fly down chimneys. It must've been out hunting, fell down the chimney and just couldn't get out."

Deborah, 43, added: "It was a bit of a shock seeing this small owl fall out of the fireplace.

"I'm just glad it's all right – they're such lovely birds."

The bird was rescued on Tuesday and taken to Mr Marsh, who has about 240 birds at his bird rescue centre in Gladstone Street.

Mr Marsh said: "That morning I was completely full but luckily I released two birds and had one free pen before the owl came in. These type of owls are not common in towns.

"They are secretive little owls and you would usually see them in the countryside at night, but not in towns."

He believes the owl is about a year old.

claire.carter@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk