There has been no shortage of bizarre rescue missions in the north and north-east of Scotland.
From a six-hour operation to free a bull stuck-in-the-mud to the travel chaos caused by a worker getting stuck in a bucket at Stornoway airport, we’ve rounded up some of the weirdest rescue missions…
1) The walker who scaled a munro in flip-flops
A Highland mountain rescue team had to carry a man off Aonach Mor after he slipped and hurt his ankle while wearing flip-flops.
The walker and his two companions said they had come to Scotland to “see the snow”.
2) Fire crews called to rescue parrot after two nights on tree-top
Charlie, an African grey parrot, had managed to escape his Stonehaven home and had taken sanctuary in the nearby Dunnottar Woods.
The fire service sprung into action and managed to rescue the bird from the tree reuinte him with his owners.
3) The bull stuck in a muddy ditch
A bull became almost completely submerged in a drainage ditch in a field on Lewis.
Firefighters spent almost six hours rescuing the animal, in what Stornoway fire station manager Steve Oliver described as “one of the most difficult animal rescues he had ever been at”.
4) The worker stuck in a bucket at Stornoway airport
A worker got stuck while trying to clear ice off a plane in a hailstorm at Stornoway airport.
The employee was in a large bucket hoisted above an aircraft but Loganair’s de-icing rig broke down with a hydraulic fault, leaving the airline employee stuck at height in freezing conditions.
He was rescued by the airport’s fire service, but the rest of the day’s flights were cancelled since the de-icer was out of action.
5) The peacock that got trapped in a catflap
A peacock was rescued after it became stuck trying to break into a family home – through a catflap.
The Scottish SPCA was called after the exotic bird was found half-in the home near Ordhead, Inverurie.
6) The man and his dogs rescued after getting stuck in the middle of River Don
A dog walker was rescued from an island on the River Don after getting struck trying to save his pets.
The pensioner is believed to have jumped into the river when one of the retrievers got into difficulty – but then got stuck himself.
A passing lorry driver noticed him and raised the alarm with the emergency services.
