A number of firefighters were needed to rescue a sheep that was stuck between rocks in Northern Ireland recently.

Firefighters from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) responded to a report of the trapped sheep at Waterfall Road near Carnlough in Co. Antrim.

A fire crew from Carnlough station attended the incident on Tuesday, May 16, shortly before lunchtime.

The firefighters were able to rescue the animal with no major trouble; it was released from the rocks with no reported injuries.

Members of the NIFRS are no strangers to animal rescues. Earlier this year, firefighters in Co. Tyrone employed a number of unorthodox measures to rescue a lamb that was trapped underground.

In mid-February, a fire crew from Fintona station responded to an incident where a two-week-old lamb fell through a manhole cover and became trapped several meters down a narrow, horizontal pipe.

Firefighters attempted to coax the lamb back the pipe by bleating, a method that had limited success. The crew then enlisted the help of a local farmer and his sheepdog.

The trained sheepdog then entered the pipe, which was several feet underground, and retrieved the lamb; the lamb was then released back to its mother unharmed.

In recent weeks, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in Wales has carried out a number of dramatic rescues where sheep had become trapped at the base of cliffs.

The most recent sheep rescue in Wales saw RSPCA personnel abseil 50m down a cliff face to rescue a sheep; the animal had been chased down the cliff, near Aberreiddy in Pembrokeshire, by a dog.

The rescuers captured footage of the rescue as they abseiled down the cliff face, caught the animal and then abseiled further down to safety.