Trapped Thirsk bird of prey saved after community effort

Having first been alerted by a member of the public to a bird of prey being trapped underneath the netting on Saturday afternoon, Ms Langley said she went to investigate, but she could not locate it even after several attempts.

However, when she returned on Wednesday the bird was visible once again.

Ms Langley, co-founder of the non-profit wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre, said: “It was flying upwards continually and hitting the netting and couldn’t find its way out.”

She said that it usually tended to be pigeons which found themselves trapped in such netting, while closer to ground level other animals often became stuck in football nets or fencing.

“Entrapment is a common issue, but one at such height is a really big problem,” she explained.

Staff at HSBC had been in contact with North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in a bid to release the bird and needed someone with wildlife experience to be on hand in case it was injured, so Ms Langley stepped in.

After an initial assessment, fire officers cut a large hole in the netting, however the sparrowhawk got tangled.

Officers then removed more netting and the bird managed to free herself and flew away.