Squirrel hops down the chimney to spread Christmas cheer

A couple went nuts after a santa-inspired squirrel jumped down the chimney of their home and went on a ten minute rampage around the living room.

The agile rodent wreaked havoc after Mitch and Haylie Ferguson freed it from the fireplace - then tried in vain to capture the festive intruder.

Mother-of-two Haylie, 26, and train inspector Mitch, 29, had to call in his dad Mitch Sr, 53, to help snare the startled squirrel.

Haylie, from Canton, Ohio, USA, said: “I have no idea how it got in. I just heard something smack against the window of the fireplace.

“My husband had to wait until his dad was off work. This wasn’t a one person job.”

The two Mitches held a blanket across the fireplace and opened the doors, but the squirrel panicked and made a dash for it.

The squirrel ran circles around the living room as the two men struggled to contain it.

Haylie added: “I was freaked out a bit. I was holding my newborn while they were doing this.

”It was crazy for five or ten minutes. I eventually locked myself in the bedroom. They finally caught the squirrel in the basement.

"But then it bit my husband’s finger. Luckily he was wearing gloves. It was the biggest squirrel I’d ever seen.

“After they caught it, my husband just held it and let our other daughter pet it. Then he let him outside.”

The Fergusons are happy to state that no squirrels were harmed in the making of this video.