Dramatic scenes as cat rescued from World War Two bunker

A cat was pulled from a World War Two bunker after an amazing rescue effort by residents after he had been trapped for three days.

Droptop the cat in his dramatic war bunker rescue. Picture: SWNS

Droptop was reunited with his worried owner Zoei Malcolm, 45, after he squeezed into the sealed off concrete bunker in Martlesham, Suffolk, on Friday.

After the RSPCA and the fire brigade both failed to rescue Droptop, it was left to a private rescue service and residents to save the feline.

Droptop the cat in his dramatic war bunker rescue. Picture: SWNS

The volunteer crew was joined by a group of around 50 people armed with heavy duty tools and equipment.

The spent three hours digging an eight foot deep hole before drilling through the military pillbox's reinforced concrete to save the cat.

Ms Malcolm explained: "He didn't come back on Friday night but that's not unusual for him because he's a little bit of a wanderer. When he didn't come back on Saturday, we got a bit concerned and went to look for him.

"We could hear him meowing but because it was dark we didn't know where he was. We eventually found him stuck in the pillbox.

"I just thought how are we going to get him out of there?"

A community-wide effort was launched in a bid to rescue the moggy with the expert help of Warrior Rescue Fire and Service.

The bunker is one of many remnants left from Martlesham Heath Airfield.

"Me and my brother are both huge animal lovers so we weren't going to leave until we saved the cat," said resident Simon Souster who helped rescue Droptop.

"People were bringing out extension leads and trays of tea. Everyone really pulled together."

The rescue crew dug a hole eight feet but when they started to smash into the wall they were confronted with a steel reinforced door.

They eventually found a route inside and began chipping away to make a gap big enough for a crew member to crawl inside.

And after three long hours the cat was rescued.

Ms Malcolm said: "My two boys were devastated. They said: 'We can't let him die in there mum'.

"I'm just glad he's back home, he's a huge part of the family."