A cat owner has spoken of how her pet became sealed underneath a bath by a plumber.

Liezel Meyer, from Pretoria, South Africa had called out the tradesman to fix dripping pipes and left him to his job while she went to work.

When the 34-year-old was away, the worker removed two tiles around the tub to fix the problem but failed to notice Persian kitty Francine creeping inside the gap while he undertook his task. He then filled the hole back up, leaving the animal trapped.

Meyer later returned home and searched for three hours after realising that Francine was nowhere to be seen.

She is quoted by the Daily Express as saying: "When I walked into the bathroom, I heard a frightened little meow. She sounded terrified.

"I had wondered earlier if she might have been tiled in, but what was the chance of that? When I heard that meow, I just knew."

The owner then used a screwdriver to smash through the bath casing and rescue her distressed pet.

Meyer added: "She was full of wet cement and mud. It took a bath session of about an hour to get the dirt from her fur."

Source: China Daily/Agencies