by Martin Jefferies

A cat stuck in a dishwasher, a dog trapped in a sofa and an elephant which toppled over.

Those are some of the weird and wonderful animal rescues carried out by firefighters in Kent last year.

Crews rescued more than 260 creatures between June 2010 and May 2011.

Horses strayed into trouble most often - they were rescued 69 times, including one which was saved from a muck heap in Hastingleigh, near Ashford, last June.

Figures released to KentOnline by Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) also show there were 60 incidents involving cats - and they weren't limited to cats stuck up trees.

Sevenoaks firefighters freed a cat from a dishwasher in nearby Dunton Green in October 2010.

In July that year, a team from from Medway rescued a cat trapped in a wheelie bin, while a crew from Grain saved a kitten with its head stuck in a child's toy.

Meanwhile, swimming pools proved dangerous territory for creatures great and small.

A dog was rescued last July after going for a dip in Matfield, near Tunbridge Wells, and a deer was pulled to safety by crews from Tonbridge and East Sussex after falling into a pool in Seal, near Sevenoaks, in February.

But by far the weightiest rescue involved crews from Whitstable and Faversham, as well as an Urban Search and Rescue team, who were faced with a jumbo drama at Howletts Wild Animal Park in Bekesbourne, near Canterbury.

In February, Umna, a two-tonne African elephant, fell onto her side after becoming ill with colic. Firefighters helped her back onto her feet by placing straps around her body and winching her into a begging position.

The number of animal-related call-outs is on the rise, according to the figures from KFRS.

They attended 244 incidents between June 2009 and May 2010, compared to 197 in the previous 12 months and 161 from June 2007-May 2008.

However, there may have been more rescues in 2007, 2008 and 2009, before the fire service moved to a more advanced reporting system.

Some incidents may not have been recorded as animal rescues under the old system, especially if firefighters only attended in an advisory role, or they turned back en route.

Watch manager Peter Campbell is in charge of Kent Fire and Rescue Service's animal rescue unit, based at Faversham fire station.

His highly-trained team attend incidents across the county, often supported by local crews and, if the incident occurs near a river or the sea, one of Kent's six specialist water units.

He said: "Our primary reason for helping to rescue animals is to protect the public. What we've found in the past is that if someone's cat, dog or bird is trapped, they will make an attempt to rescue it themselves - sometimes without proper safety equipment like climbing gear.

"What a lot of people don't realise is how unpredictable these animals can be when they're frightened.

"When you go near a trapped animal, especially a horse or a cow, they can bite or kick out."

Mr Campbell's most memorable rescue involved a bull which became trapped on the A2 when the horse box it was travelling in overturned in October 2009.

He said: "We were called by a farmer who'd been involved in a road traffic collision. The horse box was the only thing holding this one-tonne bull down.

"We secured the bull to the central reservation to prevent him running down the carriageway and pulled the horse box off him using our crane.

"The animal was then sedated, lifted into another horse box and the A2 was clear."