An angry looking tortoise has been rescued from a house fire that it started on Christmas Day.
The reptile, which is aged 45, knocked over it's heat lamp onto the bedding which, in turn, caught alight.
This resulted in the house filling with smoke at around 4:50pm but emergency crews were in attendance after neighbours heard the smoke alarm and called 999.
When emergency services arrived they saw that the property, near Uttlesford in Essex, was smoke logged and there was a fire in one of the rooms.
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Watch Manager Gary Wain, Great Dunmow Fire Station, said: "The fire started after the tortoise knocked a heat lamp onto its bedding, which then caught alight.
"This incident shows just how important it is to have smoke alarms on every level of your home - even if you're not home they will alert anyone close by to the first sign of fire.
"This tortoise has had a very lucky Christmas Day - he is 45 years young and will now hopefully continue to live a long and happy life thanks to working smoke alarms."
Earlier this year, firefighters were called out to another animal-related issue - a big, fat rat stuck in a German drain.
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It took seven members of a fire crew to free the rodent with animal rescuer Michael Sehr saying: "She had a lot of winter flab and was stuck fast at her hip - there was no going forward or back."
We feel her pain, that's for sure.
Uploading pictures of the incident to their Facebook page, the caption said: "For a gentle liberation, the grate was raised by the fire brigade Bensheim-Auerbach, so the rat could be the from the other side. The Rat could be released unharmed."
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The rat in question has been given a bunch of nicknames but the best by far at the moment is Fatatouille.
Despite people teasing the rodent, they were all pleased that the fire fighters took time out of their day to rescue her.
One person wrote: "Well done for rescuing that rat. Poor thing glad some people care for every animal in this world".
Another added: "The worth of a human is shown by how they treat the seemingly worthless."
Featured Image Credit: Essex Fire And Rescue Service
