A TROWBRIDGE couple have praised staff at the Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital after they came to the aid of a wood pigeon stuck in their chimney.

Nikki and Mark Heather felt they had run out of people to call for help when the bird became lodged in the narrow passage that leads to their breakfast room in their rented home in Westbourne Road.

Mrs Heather, 42, said she had called various agencies for help, including the RSPCA and Wiltshire County Council, but they were not able to help the bird, which had become stuck in the chimney on February 9.

She said: “As the house is rented I called up the letting agency and informed them that I had spoken to the RSPB and they had told me that if the bird was left to die in the chimney then the landlord could be fined up to £5,000.

“So they called the Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital, who I hadn’t heard of before and they came around.”

Mrs Heather praised the staff from the hospital, which is based in Salisbury, after a 16-year-old volunteer with them at the time climbed into the bottom of the chimney and brought the bird out to safety.

She said: “I wanted to highlight the good work they do. The last I heard the pigeon was doing well and recovering in their aviary.”