UNLUCKY black cat Pheobe created some really bad karma for owners David and Kate Mallender just as they were leaving for a fancy dress Christmas party.

For the hippy-style couple - resplendent in wigs, flares and platform shoes - were hardly clad in the ideal clothes to mount a pet rescue after the cat became stuck behind their son's fitted wardrobe.

The Mallenders were off to a 1970s-style fancy dress party when they heard Pheobe's distressed calls and had to resort to using an electric saw to free her.

Unable to climb out of the gap between the wall and the rear of the cupboard, Pheobe could not be reached.

With big hair and even larger sunglasses, Kate tried but found her arms too short for the task.

As a result, David was forced to retrieve tools from the garage and begin sawing his way through the rear of the wardrobe.

"It all started just as we were ready to leave for the party," said David, of Stamford Bridge, near York.

"We were calling Pheobe so we could leave her in the kitchen where she would be safe, but could only hear her miaowing in response."

The couple still made it to the party, albeit a little late and with a tale to tell, while Pheobe is free and none the worse for her ordeal.

However, their son's wardrobe is now one of the few in the country to boast its very own cat flap.