FIREFIGHTERS have been praised for rescuing two boys who got stuck nearly 60ft up a tree in their school grounds.

The 13-year-old pupils at Spring Hill School, in Ripon , had climbed the equivalent height of four double-decker buses during their lunch break, before getting into difficulty and found themselves unable to climb down.

Ripon’s fire crew attended at 1.10pm on Tuesday, but because of the height the children had reached, they called for colleagues from Harrogate to bring an aerial platform.

A North Yorkshire Fire Brigade spokesman said a firefighter was able to help one of the boys climb back down the tree, while the other pupil was lifted from the tree using the platform.

He said: “Rescuing children from trees is not something we regularly do and to rescue a child from 60ft up a tree is quite rare.”

He said that firefighters issued the school, which is run by Barnado’s and caters for children with learning difficulties and challenging behaviour, with advice about restricting access to trees in the grounds.

Headteacher Linda Nelson thanked firefighters for their time and professionalism.

She said: “As much as we tell them not to, boys will always want to climb trees.”