FIREFIGHTERS probably expect to save the odd cat stuck up a tree during their careers - but what is more unusual is to have to carry out a two-hour rescue operation to save a person stuck up a tree.
However that is the situation local firefighters found themselves in on Thursday, April 23, when they were called out to the Rose Gardens in Minehead.
There they found that a man was stuck on one of the limbs of a tree, approximately 15m above the ground and unable to get himself back down.
However such was the difficulty of retrieving the man from his predicament, that two fire appliances from Minehead, a specialist rescue team from Bridgwater, and an aerial ladder platform from Taunton were all needed at the scene.
An ambulance was on hand and police were forced to close the road while the rescue operation was carried out.
Firstly, the team tried to rescue the man using a 13.5m ladder - but this initial attempt proved unsuccessful.
Eventually the man was brought back down to earth via the aerial ladder platform with the help of the specialist rescue team.
He was handed over to paramedics to be checked over some three hours after the ordeal began.
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