IT'S a tale that would have Jerry fuming with rage - a cat has been rescued by a mouse.

In a new take on the old "cat stuck-up-tree" saga, mischievous moggy Captain Kirk was rescued from his perch by a firefighter whose nickname is Mouse.

Kirk had somehow managed to beam himself up a 35ft tree near his owner's home - and had to "klingon" for three days before firefighters came to the rescue.

The team included Neil Thornton, nicknamed Mouse by his colleagues.

Kirk's owner Denise Edwards, of Morpeth, Northumberland, said the cat was an enterprising character.

"He's pretty adventurous, but he's not normally a tree-climber," she said.

"Something must have chased him up there, perhaps a fox. He's a big cat, in fact when the firemen first arrived they asked if he was a lion!

"I don't know how he got up there because the tree has no lower branches.

We tried everything to tempt him down, and after three days I didn't know what else to do but call the RSPCA and the fire brigade.

"They were fantastic. I can't thank them enough."

Neil Thornton used a rod to make Kirk jump onto a nearby tree, and he clambered down to safety.

He said: "My colleagues have called me Mouse for years. The lads have been teasing me about being the mouse that rescued a cat. I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later."