The squirrel was discovered with its head poking through the drain cover in the city's Hainalle on Thursday morning. Emergency services were alerted around 10.30am.

Firefighters presumed that the rodent had tried to escape from the sewer system through the manhole cover – but had unfortunately got into a sticky situation during the process.

Rescue teams didn't manage to free the squirrel so they took the manhole cover – with the animal stuck inside – to a nearby vet.

Photo: Feuerwehr Dortmund

Vet staff then managed to release the squirrel after putting it under an anaesthetic.

The squirrel had some injuries to its neck, but they were not thought to be serious. The tiny animal will receive further treatment at the vet.

The manhole cover was replaced after the rescue.

Not the first animal to get stuck in Germany

Earlier this year a rat in Bensheim, Hesse, had to be rescued from a manhole cover after becoming stuck.

The rat was discovered with its head and upper body protruding from the manhole cover in the town about 30 kilometres south of Frankfurt.

The rat had been trapped due to too much ‘Winterspeck', a German word which literally translates to ‘winter bacon' and refers to the extra weight one puts on during the winter period.