A group of heroic workers have described the moment they saved a deaf cat trapped in a storm tank.

Last month the Wimbledon Times reported how one-year-old Basti was reunited with owner Diana Jaleru after going missing for a month.

Basti was saved by a group of Thames Water workers who spotted the cat in the empty Wandle Valley sewage pumping station near to her Colliers Wood home.

Ms Jaleru praised the people who saved her pet at the time and now those helpful individuals have spoken out.

Wimbledon Times:

Kiersten Atwell, a project office manager for MGjv, a sub-contractor for Thames Water, used planks of wood with the help of his father Gary, construction contracts manager at the firm, to help get the noticeably skinny animal out of the tank to safety.

With a little encouragement from her saviours, Basti clambered up the plank and, despite almost slipping from the wood several times, made it to safety.

Kiersten and Gary then treated the malnourished moggy to a bowl of milk and some fish at a room on the site, before she promptly fell asleep for a catnap in the sun.

Kiersten said: “When I saw her, it was just shock. We were all surprised to come across a cat in the bottom of the tank.

“We think she probably chased something in there, got in the tree and climbed down but couldn’t get back out.”

RELATED: Colliers Wood woman praises workers after deaf cat found in water tank a month after disappearance

Gary added: “For a few mornings Kiersten could hear meowing but when he looked around he couldn’t see anything. She must have been sheltering in the green area.

“She followed us down to the offices, Kiersten got her a saucer of milk and my best treacle-coated smoked salmon.”

Colleague Matt Loft, a site agent for another sub-contractor Falco Construction, spotted a medallion on Basti’s collar and rang relieved owner Diana, who was so grateful that she brought the team a box of chocolates and a voucher for supermarket Tesco as a thank-you.

Wimbledon Times:

Mr Loft said: “We put the cat on a table and left her in a room asleep in the sun enjoying herself. We showed the lady through the window and she was over the moon.

“I’d like someone to do the same if it was mine.”

Gary added: “Matt stayed around until 5.30pm so she could pick up the cat. It’s great that we’ve gone the extra mile.”

The pumping station contains the disused storm tanks as remnants of the old sewage works which closed in the Seventies.