A PET hamster has had its leg amputated in a rare life-saving operation after it was found trapped behind an oven.

The Weeks family, from Wickford, were left baffled when they realised four-month-old Syrian hamster Lavender was not in her cage and had gone missing.

Owner Michelle Weeks said: “We noticed she was missing first thing in the morning and searched all over the place, leaving treats out, but it was about 10pm when we heard a noise from behind the oven and found her trapped.

“My son had to lift the oven for me to get behind and get her out. It was obvious she was hurt; her leg was facing the other way but you wouldn’t know it from her demeanour as she didn’t make a sound.”

The family immediately contacted the out-of-hours service at Cherrydown Vets, in Basildon, who carried out a rare operation to amputate her severely damaged hind leg and save her life.

Lavender has made a remarkable recovery and is getting used to life with three legs.

Mrs Weeks added: “We took her to Cherrydown’s out-of-hours service and they explained the risks of the operation but it was an easy decision for us. Lavender is only a few months old and my daughter Lily adores her so we said to go ahead.

“She has made a great recovery and has soon got used to life with three legs. She is still going all over the place, although we have closed off the top two tiers of her cage so she confined to the ground floor for now!”

Vet Amy Andrews, who carried out the intricate operation at Cherrydown, said due to the unusual nature of the surgery the theatre was full of vets and nurses.

She said: “Receiving an emergency out-of-hours call for a hamster is quite a rarity. When Lavender arrived, it was clear her injury was very serious.

“Lavender’s owners had to make the choice of either taking the high risk of a general anaesthetic to amputate her fractured leg or make the sad decision to put her out of her pain.

“Just giving a general anaesthetic to such a small pet can be very risky.

“But Lavender woke up quickly and went from strength to strength, learning to manage with three legs.”