SLIDESHOW: RSPCA release pictures of 2016's weirdest animal rescues

West Sussex-based RSPCA have released their top ten most bizarre animal rescues of 2016 - including a cat found in a parcel by the county's postmen.
This sheep got her head stuck in a traffic cone in the middle of a field.This sheep got her head stuck in a traffic cone in the middle of a field.
This sheep got her head stuck in a traffic cone in the middle of a field.

The pictures also show a seagull that fell into a vat of curry and turned orange, a dog with its head stuck in a fence and a cow firmly wedged in an animal feeder.

A spokesman for the animal charity said: “Animals really do the funniest things.

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“But sometimes, they need a little help getting themselves out of the trouble they find themselves in and the RSPCA is always there to help.”

In one case postmen in Goring, Worthing, were left shocked when on March 22, a Siamese cat called Cupcake was found in a second-hand package of CDs and DVD.

Using Cupcake’s microchip officers were able to locate her owner’s 260 miles away in Falmouth, Cornwall, who hadn’t seen their pet in eight days.

In another case a five-month-old Schnauzer called Juno got his head wedged between two metal bars in a fence on a walk in Stockport, Greater Manchester.

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Animal inspectors and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue managed to free the stricken pooch by cutting the railings on March 23.

Then on October 28, a missing corn snake named Vecky was found in an unsuspecting couple’s airing cupboard in York.

Comical pictures show the reptile peeking out of a vacuum cleaner after it slithered inside the household appliance before RSPCA officer Lucy Green arrived.

The two-year-old had been missing for three months and was eventually reunited with its owner.

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Elsewhere, in in Alfreton, Derbyshire, a horse got stuck with three legs on one side of a footbridge and its fourth on the other side.

The skewbald mare was spotted by a dog walker who called the RSPCA on September 27.

Firefighters and vets helped free the animal, that escaped with just a few bloody wounds.

Meanwhile, a cat named Maggie May followed her owner down the stairs but became wedged under the stair lift in Kendal, Cumbria, on October 5.

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A vet, and RSPCA officer and an engineer managed to free the puss, whose stomach and back legs were trapped, using a car jack to lift the seat off.

In the summer, a gull hit the headlines after falling into a vat of Tandoori at a curry house and turned bright orange.

RSPCA officers dashed to the eatery in Newport and rescued to bird before taking him to a wildlife centre for a check up on August 2.

It was uninjured and after being cleaned was released.

in Abergavenny six goldfish were rescued from a culvert after RSPCA officers were called to the same spot on two occasions.

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Two fish were freed from the open drain entrance on March 22 and four more were saved just eight days later.

Earlier this month a sheep got its head stuck in a traffic cone and charged around a field in Hertfordshire on December 4.

RSPCA officers managed to catch the ewe before wrenching the item from its head and released it back to its flock.

On July 20, a fat toad got wedged face down in garden decking, leaving his bum and back legs sticking in the air in Norwich.

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RSPCA inspector Jason Finch tried to wriggle the amphibian free, but dropped it into the void and had to saw the decking boards to free him.

Finally, a Pokemon Go gamer was shocked when he was hunting for virtual critters and came across a cow stuck in a metal feeder on July 27.

He called the RSPCA who, helped by firefighters, freed the animal, whose head was wedged between the railings in Wythenshawe Park, Manchester.