A shopkeeper and her customers tore open a ceiling panel to rescue a trapped pet cat in Thailand.

Store owner Ning was manning the register when she suddenly heard a cat's muffled cries coming from the ceiling of her hardware shop in Bangkok on June 6.

She resumed work, thinking she was just hearing things. However, she noticed the ceiling buckling slightly shortly before her worried neighbour entered the shop looking for her pet feline, Kaow Pun, which had been missing for a day.

Footage shows the locals climbing a stepladder to break open the bulging ceiling panel. Inside the dark space, they discovered frightened Kaow Pun and reunited it with its relieved owner.

Ning said: 'I thought I was just imagining things because I was so tired. It turns out there really was a cat in the ceiling. I'm glad we managed to rescue it and return it to its owner.'