Two tawny owls rescued from family's chimney in Corpusty

When Lauren Mayes and her family heard flapping and scratching noises coming from the chimney in their home in Corpusty they assumed it was just pigeons roosting.

One of the tawny owls waiting on the windowsill while the other was rescued (Image: Lauren Mayes)But when her son Toby said he had heard a hooting noise, Miss Mayes decided to investigate by getting in touch with the local chimney sweep.

Chimney sweep Darrel Cucu came to the rescue, removing the wood burner and using his camera to take a look at what was going on.

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About 13ft up, the camera revealed a pair of tawny owls that had become stuck while attempting to nest.

"We couldn’t believe it," Miss Mayes said. "Darrel managed to very cleverly get the first one down using his chimney rods.

A photo showing one of the owls stuck in the chimney (Image: Lauren Mayes)"The other one was much more tricky and had far more energy. It kept trying to climb back up the chimney.

"Eventually he managed to reach up and get it with his hands. 

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"They were both a bit sooty but considering they had been stuck since Saturday they looked in good form.

"They were really big and looked at us with their huge marble eyes. They were gorgeous."

Thankfully the owls were unharmed and flew away once released (Image: Lauren Mayes)Thankfully the family had not lit their wood burner in the last few days and they released the birds who flew off into the distance. 

The family will now be buying a bird guard for their chimney to avoid similar situations in the future.