Rescuers had to rappel down a 65ft-deep well to reach a kitten that was stuck in the water overnight.

A neighbour heard the cat crying while she was fetching water in Semarang City, Central Java province, Indonesia, on September 22.

The woman called the rescuers for help and told them it was a stray feline that had been hanging around for the last few weeks searching for food.

Firefighters arrived with long ropes before building a pulley system on top of the well.

The Semarang City Fire and Rescue Service said: "As soon as we received the report that night, we headed straight to the location with complete evacuation equipment."

One of the rescuers attached a safety harness to the pulley before descending into the dark well.

He was wearing an oxygen mask tied to a gas cylinder on his backpack and a helmet with a flashlight before he rapelled down.

After a few minutes, the rescuer signalled his colleagues to bring him up and they immediately pulled the rope.

The rescuer emerged with the frightened and wet black kitten that was wrapped in a towel to stop it from shivering.

The rescue mission lasted for almost two hours because of the elaborate pulley they set up on the well.

The house owner decided to adopt the kitten and put a cover on the well to prevent hungry strays from falling again.