A hero policeman rode a cherrypicker crane to save a stray cat that had been trapped on a Buddhist temple's roof for five days.

Officers arrived at the compound with the construction equipment so they could reach the top of the 20ft-high structure in Lopburi province, Thailand on December 17 morning.

Footage shows the cop being lifted by the truck. He then scaled the tiles to reach to the corner of the roof to take the cat and boarded the crane again so they could descend together.

The cat was unhurt although it was starving. It dashed across the compound but returned to eat the food and water left by the monks.

Onlooker Rachat Mits said: ‘The cat was stuck on the roof for five days. The monks heard it crying.

‘When it was finally spotted near the edge of the roof outside, they called the police. I was cheering with excitement when the cat was finally saved.'