The fluffy family pet called Bella decided, for reasons known only to herself, to clamber to the very top of a neighbour's pitched-roofed house in Sorrell Drive.

And there she stayed, perched precariously on the apex for three days and three nights.

"It was terrible," said Bella's owner, mum-of-three Sally McLuckie. "We tried calling her; we tried tempting her down with food, we even borrowed a ladder and threw pieces of cod onto the roof... but she just sat there, too scared to budge."

Bella stayed put during several torrential downpours and her piteous miaows soon started drawing a crowd of concerned sympathisers.

"The owner of the house, Suzanne Bennett, kept getting people knocking at her door asking if she was aware that she had a cat stuck on her roof.

"In the end her children made a sign saying: 'Thank you for your concern but we know about the cat!'" said Sally, who lives in nearby Pennycress Way.

She said the most worrying time was when crows discovered the trespasser on their territory and started swooping down to peck at poor Bella, terrifying the cat even more.

In desperation the family contacted the RSPCA, whose inspector Samantha Harris came out to have a look.

Newport Pagnell firefighters arrived at the scene on Friday lunchtime.

"As soon as we put the ladders up and got onto the roof the cat was
really pleased to see us... she practically shot into the firefighter's arms!" said a spokesman.

Bella was equally pleased to see her family and, though starving hungry, appeared none the worse for her ordeal.

"It was lovely to have her back," said Sally, who has thanked the RSPCA and the firefighters for their help.