Happy ending for lamb heard bleating from bottom of 10ft well

After being alerted to the lamb's plight, the RSPCA helped rescued the baby from the deep, stone well in the middle of a field in Lincolnshire on Saturday.

Inspector Deborah Scotcher said: "The poor little thing was rather muddy and wet but, thankfully, despite a 10ft fall, didn’t seem injured.

“She was too far down for the walker to reach so he called us to help.

“Luckily, the lamb was standing and was alert when I arrived and, despite being a little mucky, she was in good condition and wasn’t too worse for wear.

“It’s not quite clear how she fell over the wall surrounding the well but she took quite the tumble as she must have been a good 10ft down. I suspect she jumped onto the well thinking it was a rock or tree stump, without realising it was an opening.

“I managed to get her out by stepping down onto a ledge within the well shaft and reached down to scoop her up.

“I gave her a quick check over and she didn’t have any injuries and was desperate to get back to her mum so I let her run back to the flock.

“I stayed to monitor her for a little while but she was running comfortably and suckling happily so I left them to it."

But Ms Scotcher said the story could have ended very differently had it not been for the walker's decision to contact the animal charity.

“I’d like to thank the walker who followed his instinct - and his ears - to find out what the racket was because, had she been stuck down there for too long, it may not have been such a happy ending," she said.

“He also helped me rescue the vulnerable little thing so a huge thank you to him for his kindness.”

The charity advises anyone who spots an animal in distress to call its 24-hour emergency line on 0300 1234 999 and warns against members of the public putting themselves at risk by attempted to a rescue an animal themselves.