A woman who climbed a tree to rescue her cat had to be saved by firefighters after she also got stuck.

Maria Parry’s husband was forced to dial 999 after she got lodged 12 feet up the tree while trying to reach the pet, Harry.

The 34-year-old nursery school nurse – who said she was scared of heights – had finally tracked down the feline three days after he went missing from her home in Fareham, Hampshire.

Ms Parry said: “I heard this meow, this scared meow, so I went over to the neighbour’s garden and saw him in the tree. I climbed up the tree by instinct. He was shaking, I just wanted to comfort him.

“He actually fell asleep when I got to him. When I reached up I could stroke him.”

But she said she realised she was also stranded when the wind picked up and branches started swaying, so she called her husband.

“He asked if I could come down and I thought, ‘Right, I can’t talk because I’m actually scared now’,” she said. “I didn’t realise I was really high up.”

She said he left work to help and arrived 15 minutes later, then phoned the fire brigade, adding: “I don’t think they were that bothered until they heard I was up there too. I think now it’s actually funny – but when I was up there it wasn’t.”

Ms Parry ventured up the tree after borrowing a cat basket from a neighbour, Deborah Baxter. She was stuck for 45 minutes before firefighters eventually helped her down with a ladder.

Maria Parry with Harry the cat (PA)

Ms Baxter said she had been puzzled when she went to check if Ms Parry had managed to rescue the cat, only to find the basket on the ground.

She said: “I looked out the back window and I just saw my cat basket and thought, ‘No cat, that’s strange’. I realised the cat was still up the tree. They were both there.”

A Hampshire Fire and Rescue spokesman confirmed it sent out a crew to rescue both the cat and its owner. He added: “A cat was stuck up a tree and its owner had gone up to rescue it and also become stuck. The pair were rescued using a short ladder.”