A family removed a section of wall with a hammer and chisel 'brick by brick' to save a pigeon that had been trapped in the chimney for three days. Mohammad Arshad, 74, who was resting at his home following major heart surgery, called in family after he heard "scratching" coming from behind his fireplace.
His son Suleymaan, who was visiting his dad in Leicester, said: “We thought it was a mouse at first and it was my father who suggested it might be a pigeon. It then went quiet for a long time, but dad was still really insistent we call his brother to come along and take a look, because he’s good at DIY.”
Mr Arshad’s brother, Mohammad Safdar, arrived with his tools and tried to remove the fireplace from inside with no luck. He then decided to take down a section of the wall from the outside, carefully avoiding the gas pipe, and removing it one brick at a time.
The careful work then revealed a pigeon covered in dust. Mr Safdar ran to the front of the house to show the pigeon to his brother, who emotionally hugged him in appreciation for his “noble deed”.
Mr Safdar then let the pigeon go and it flew off, seemingly unharmed, into the sky.
Suleymaan added: “We were so surprised that it was still alive and that it could still fly! We also didn’t expect dad to come and greet his brother like that considering he had just had open heart surgery and kidney failure. He must have been just so elated and thankful!”
He said Mr Safdar said to Mr Arshad: "I hope by me doing this good deed, you will be cured from all your troubles."
Suleymann added: “It was an amazing moment and some positive news after a hard time for my father."
