A fox with its head trapped between two walls and a puppy stuck behind a shed are just two bizarre animal rescues that Brent firefighters have been involved in.

New figures released by London Fire Brigade (LFB) show that last year rescuing animals across the capital cost around £13,000 a month.

Of these, eight pet rescues were in Brent, most involving cats stuck in various places at a cost of over £2,000.

Last November 9, firefighters were called to rescue the fox trapped between two walls in Wembley and on August 14 they went to the aid of the puppy in Alperton.

They are urging people to contact the RSPCA, not the fire brigade, when finding pets in trouble.

In total LFB went to 557 animal rescues in London in the 2014/15 financial year, each costing at least £295, even with the minimum number of firefighters deployed.

Cats contributed to 287 of all animal incidents the fire brigade was called to, while dogs accounted for less than a third with 82 call outs.

Among more bizarre cases were a chimp stuck up a chimney in Tower Hamlets, and a snake on the roof of a mosque in Camden.

London Fire Brigade Director of Operations Dave Brown said: “We will always be there in an emergency but not all animal rescues need our help.

“As well as being time consuming, animal rescues cost the tax payer and I’m sure most people would prefer their money was being spent on training or fire prevention work, than cats up trees.

He said that if an animal is injured or in distress people should call the RSPCA’s 24 hour helpline on 0300 1234 999 or go to rspca.org.uk.