Fire crew rescue woman who got stuck up tree rescuing sister’s parrot

Fire crews were summoned to rescue a woman who got stuck up a tree trying to rescue her sister’s baby parrot.

Pictures show Leanne Jones’s sister Toni-Anne, 33, stranded at the top as her mission didn’t go exactly to plan.

A cherry picker had to be sent to Trowbridge, Wiltshire to save baby macaw Missy, who had never flown before and couldn’t get down.

Leanne, 32, was eating lunch with 23-week-old Missy outside on Saturday when she started ‘flapping her wings as parrots do, and then just took off’.

‘I think it shocked her as well, and then she was stuck on the guttering in the flat opposite my house’, she said.

‘I was trying to call her down she had loads of seagulls flying around, I think she was like “oh my gosh, what’s going on?”

‘She couldn’t figure out how to swoop down so went in a circle, she was bullied a bit by seagulls and went over my house by my garden. By the time I’d got round the back I didn’t know where she was.’

The blue and yellow bird was eventually located in Trowbridge Lodge Park in a tree in a garden – but it was starting to get dark.

The adoring pet owner stayed up all night waiting for the parrot to come down from the tree, only leaving to use the bathroom.

‘When it started to get light she started talking away and she attempted to try and fly down, but as she was going towards the edge of the branch part of it snapped’, Leanne said.

‘She was hanging on by her foot upside down and tried to flap and come back to me but she couldn’t as it was really windy.’

Toni-Anne offered to step in when Missy flew to another tree in a garden – but things became even more complicated.

Leanne said: ‘My sister is a bit like Houdini, and I was like, “uh do you think you can try and get up this tree?” It was so windy – she was like, “I’m stuck!”’

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue swooped in to save the day – but fire crews were not able to rescue Missy, and the RSPB couldn’t help until a full 24 hours after her escape.

Unwilling to wait, Leanne called a local company to see if she could hire their cherry picker for ten minutes, for which they quoted her £100.

Despite being terrified of heights, she made her way up the tree and finally got Missy to safety.

 ‘I’m absolutely terrified of heights, but I didn’t want to risk her flying off. She didn’t budge, she let me pick her up and was kissing all over my face’, Leanne said. ‘She was freezing cold and very hungry but she was fine.’

She added: ‘I was shaking like a leaf getting down! It really is amazing, so many people out looking for Missy, so many people were offering to help and turning up with poles. Don’t assume a baby parrot can’t fly!’

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue has issued a warning following the incident.

It says: ‘We of course understand the emotional attachments to pets of any species, but please take this incident as a reminder of the danger posed by attempting to rescue without any specialist assistance.’