When asked to picture a squirrel, most people would imagine them halfway up a tree or in a rural back garden.

But one rodent found itself in a bit of a pinch after it got its head stuck in a manhole cover – and it was absolutely fuming about it.

The red squirrel’s head was spotted sticking out of a manhole cover in the German city of Dortmund on Monday afternoon.

A pedestrian covered its head with a scarf to try and calm it before calling for help, the Independent reports.

Firefighters swiftly came to the squirrel’s rescue, removing the manhole cover and freeing the rodent.

A spokesman for the local fire department said: ‘This turned out to be quite complicated as the squirrel was uncooperative.’

The squirrel reportedly tried to bite its rescuers, but was soon released from the manhole cover.

As soon as it was freed the squirrel, which was unharmed, ran off without a backwards glance and vanished up a nearby tree.

This is the second time firefighters in Dortmund have had to rescue a squirrel in recent years, with the last incident taking place in 2019.

However, the department said it ‘could not be determined’ if the unlucky squirrel rescued on Monday was the same one which got into difficulty four years ago.

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