A year ago, Blackburn Elementary School in Manatee County, near Palmetto, Florida, was in a bit of a bind.

The fire alarm in their kitchen had been pulled, and they couldn't work out who'd done it. Was it one of the students? One of the teachers? A complete stranger? Or was it... a squirrel?

Searching through CCTV footage, it emerged that an inquisitive rodent had taken it upon himself to pull the lever - for no apparent reason.

Without the footage, the school could have been liable for a fine - but with video evidence of the culprit in the can, all they had to do was catch him and let him go a couple of miles away from the school grounds.

"We didn't have to pay any fines for a false alarm once the fire department realised the little guy was the culprit," said Todd Henson, director of maintenance.

"It's really hard to fine a squirrel," he added, "so he got a stern lecture and was released outside..."

Perhaps that fire alarm that kept going off on Brian Williams' NBC Nightly News Show was all down to a squirrel, eh? Well, you never know...