A railway station had to shut down its power while emergency services scrambled to save a trapped seagull.

The unfortunate bird caught its wing in some netting and was stuck in the canopy above platform one at Eastbourne Station.

Staff said the bird, known as Paul, has been visiting for years and is known as the station mascot. He was stuck for about 24 hours before wildlife rescuers were called to help.

Chris Riddington, 34, from Eastbourne is the lead casualty manager for the animal rescue team East Sussex WRAS.

He said: “A member of station staff called us to help and we arrived at about 7pm on Tuesday night.

“I called Network Rail and they said they weren’t prepared to help and that no one could do anything while the power was on. They said if it was a person or a pet then they would assist, but not for a seagull.”

Mr Riddington said Sussex Police were called to assist but little could be done without the go-ahead from Network Rail.

He said: “I called them again and told them people would jump on the line if they don’t turn the power off.

“They would be committing an offence under the Animal Welfare Act leaving it up there with no freedom.”

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service was called out twice to assist with the rescue mission.

After numerous phone calls between wildlife rescuers and Network Rail, the power was eventually turned off at about 1am. The fire crews were then able to set up a ladder and rescue the helpless bird.

Mr Riddington said: “I got him home at about 1.30am and stayed up with him till 4am to make sure he had enough fluids.”

Liz Kinnish, from Eastbourne was thrilled to see a photo of her feathered friend on Facebook after he had been rescued.

She said: “Thank you for trying so hard. He’s become a mascot for station staff, please bring Paul home when he’s fit and ready. Long may he live, stealing our sandwiches.”

A Network Rail spokesman said: “It was necessary to stop trains running on one line and also turn the power off, but once this was done, the bird was released.

“We are guided by set rules about when we are able to stop trains and turn power off, as this is often both disruptive for passengers and expensive, and it is not undertaken lightly.

“Officially we can do this when an animal is a protected species, such as a swan, or it might do harm to passengers, such as a cow or a horse.

“However, nobody wants to see an animal hurt or left trapped and we took action when there was a quiet period and we were able to get the gull down.”