The RSPCA rescued a cat from a 25ft prison fence covered in razor wire.

The eight-month-old black and white cat was spotted by staff and inmates at HM Prison Haverigg.

The intrepid cat, called Padfoot, had somehow got himself stuck on top of a 25ft fence with two rolls of razor wire along the top and was about 50m inside the prison perimeter.

RSPCA Inspector Martyn Fletcher, who rescued the ‘cat burglar’, said: “This was one great escape. I have no idea how he managed to get so far inside the prison and so high up the fence, maybe he considered himself a bit of a feline felon.

"He nearly fell three times but managed to grasp the wire and pull himself to safety. The poor cat was very scared and reluctant to be rescued. It took a lot of patience, some ladders and a reach and rescue pole to be able to bring him to safety.”

He was immediately taken to the vets as he had cuts on his paws from the razor wire which thankfully turned out to be minor injuries. Padfoot was then placed in a private boarding cattery overnight. As he was not microchipped, animal rescuer Martyn made enquiries to try and find the owner but there was no luck.

He had been missing from home for about four days but finally Padfoot was reunited with his owners on Christmas Eve just in time for the Christmas festivities.

Padfoot’s owner Angela Driver Swales said: “He’d been missing for about four or five days but he’s done this before. He will go but he always comes back so it wasn’t until one of our neighbours told us about the rescue that we thought it might be Padfoot.”

The eight-month-old cat came to live with Angela at their stables along with his brother, Severus, also named after another Harry Potter character, and their existing cat, Lucifer.

Angela added: “He’s now become a bit famous, there have been lots of jokes about him breaking into the prison, as you can imagine.”