FIREFIGHTERS dealt with one of their most bizarre callouts in years when they cut free a snake that had wriggled through a wedding ring.

Michelle Potter, of Walker, near Newcastle, handed her pet cornsnake, Tango, to her friend, George Dodds, to hold.

The 5ft reptile wrapped himself around his chest and slipped his head through a wedding ring hanging from a chain around his neck.

Ms Potter said: "Because Tango was struggling, the ring just kept slipping further down his body until it was well and truly stuck.

"We tried to use cooking oil and even put him in a sink of cold water, but it did not work.

"He was getting very distressed and there was no way that the ring was coming off."

The pair took Tango to a vet, who called firefighters. Vet Jenny Walton put five-year-old Tango under anaesthetic, then a firefighter cut the ring and slipped it off its body.

Tango was none the worse for the ordeal.