A pig off a cliff and a seal in a hole were just a few of the unusual calls animal rescue teams attended this year.

Animals can get up to all sorts when we’re not looking - but sometimes their inquisitiveness can leave them in a sticky situation.

Here are six rescues in Norfolk and Waveney which left teams scratching their heads in 2021.

Seal rescue, Waxham beach

A seal pup found trapped in a hole on Waxham beach was saved and released into the sea.

The Friends of Horsey Seals rescue team were called to the stranded pup's aid after a family saw it fall into the hole on December 20.

After locating the seal, a rescue effort was launched to save it before the tide came in.

After three hours, the rope was safely placed around the pup and it was lifted from the hole.

Duckling rescue, Dereham

Seven ducklings had to be rescued by the RSPCA after they fell through the holes of a grate and into a dirty drain in Dereham.

The RSPCA attended the incident back in April after someone spotted the young birds in the drain.

An officer from the Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service attended and lifted the heavy iron manhole cover which the drain led to so RSPCA inspector Ben Kirby could scoop the ducklings out.

Four ducklings died and the others were taken to the RSPCA’s East Winch Wildlife Centre.

Deer rescue, River Wensum, Norwich

A man armed with just a kayak herded a muntjac deer to safety from the River Wensum in Norwich.

Bill Branston, 28, was in his city home when girlfriend, Tilly Carruthers, 25, saw what she thought was her dog in the River Wensum in May.

At a second glance, they realised their Italian greyhound, Nugent, was safely inside, and that the animal in the water was a muntjac deer.

After calling a wildlife rescue charity the deer swam upstream and wasn't seen again for several hours.

That was when Mr Branston took it upon himself to get the deer to land using his kayak.

Once the deer put its feet on land it scarpered away from the scene.

Snake rescue, Norwich

A cleaner got the shock of their life when they found a colourful corn snake in a Norwich house.

The worker had the close encounter at St Anne's Quarter, back in June, and immediately called police.

Norfolk police worked with Kevin Murphy from Norfolk Wildlife Rescue to deal with the incident.

The wildlife expert used safety gloves before covering the snake in a soft pillow case and transferring the creature into a smaller container.

The snake was safely captured and then given to a reptile handler.

Piglet rescue, Covehithe beach

In June a dog walker came across a piglet which had fallen down the cliff onto Covehithe beach in Suffolk.

When they returned the next day it was still stuck at the bottom of the cliff, continually trying and failing to climb back up.

It is believed that the piglet came from the farm at the top of the cliff, but had wandered too far.

The dog walker contacted the farmer and the RSPCA who then attempted to rescue the piglet.

Fox rescue, Lowestoft

The RSPCA was called to an address in Carlton Colville in July because a fox was found trapped in the back of a football net.

Inspector Jason Finch managed to quickly release the fox - which was not injured and ran off very quickly.