SUSIE the black cat is recovering from a fractured hip after she fell through some grating and spent 24 hours trapped in a cellar.

An appeal has been issued to find the owner of Susie, who was rescued by firefighters after being found beneath a metal grid in Blackburn.

Residents heard the cat crying out from the cellar space, in Shear Brow, on Wednesday, where she is thought to have been trapped overnight.

After failing to coax her up a wooden plank and through a hole in the grating, the residents called Blackburn fire station, and firefighter Charlene Winchester, and her colleagues, were able to remove the cover and climb down to Susie, who had injured one of her legs.

They took her to Abbeydale Vets, in Preston New Road, where she was X-rayed and treated for shock.

Veterinary nurse Lianne Lowe said Susie needed surgery for a broken hip, but the procedure cannot be carried out without permission from the owners.

She said: “She has a microchip, but the owners don’t live at the address any more, so we are just hoping they see this and come forward.

“But if they don’t, we’ll go ahead with the operation and get her re-homed.

“She’s comfortable now and is just waiting to have the operation.

“She’s on a lot of painkillers, but she’s eating and drinking and seems happy.”

Her colleague Sarah Cairns said: “She’s very unsteady on her legs and it looks really sore.

“But she seems like a really nice, friendly cat.”

If you are the owner, call Abbeydale Vets on 01254 681811.