This is the heartwarming moment a bedraggled kitten stuck in a drain was rescued by volunteers in Thailand.

The tiny feline had slipped through the grates of a storm drain and was heard crying by a resident in Lampang province on January 17.

The worried female local called the Lampang Rescue Team, and the crew arrived with tools to free the trapped stray.

Footage shows the rescuers prying up the drain cover, then lowering a basket with some mackerel down the opening to lure the kitten. However, it retreated further into a pipe.

A volunteer then plunged into the water-filled drain trying to pull the kitten by hand, but it was out of reach. After several minutes, they lowered the basket again, and finally rescued the stray when it ventured outside to feed on the fish.

The resident took pity on the animal and decided to adopt it.