Firefighters rescue missing lambs found down disused mine shaft

Firefighters have rescued a group of missing lambs that were found down a disused mine shaft.

The animals, which had been missing for three days, were retrieved from the 12-metre shaft on farm land near Ballymena Co Antrim, on Friday evening.

A specialist crew from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) worked with colleagues from Ballymoney fire station at the farm on the Cushendall Road to access the shaft using gas monitors and rope rescue equipment.

A spokesman for the NIFRS said the lambs were in a distressed state when a firefighter reached them.

He said they had been returned to their “grateful owners”.

“NIFRS would like to thank the lambs’ owners for showing restraint, not entering the mine shaft without proper equipment and calling the emergency services to perform the rescue,” he added.

“We would like to remind the public of the dangers of entering disused mines or sub surface work areas and advise people never to enter such locations.”