Wigan youngster was stuck up a tree for two hours

The distressed youngster, said to be aged eight or nine, was only saved when a member of the public arrived with a ladder.

Shortly before, the fire brigade had been called to the scene at Castle Street, Atherton, near to Howe Bridge leisure centre, at around 3.20pm on Tuesday.

But the crew from Leigh station were turned back before they got there after the message came through that the emergency was over

A spokesman for the station said: "We are not sure what happened because we never had the chance to speak to her.

"Maybe she was with some friends who then left her stuck up the tree after climbing it, thinking she could descend of her own volition.

"We understand she had been up there for two hours before a ladder was found and she was safely brought down."