Forest officials have rescued a leopard that had fallen into a well after straying into a village in India's western Gujarat state.

The leopard, believed to be eight years old, was spotted struggling to stay afloat by local farmers when they came to draw water from the well.

The locals alerted forest officials who rushed to the spot to carry out the rescue operation in the Veraval district.

The leopard, half-submerged in water, was hoisted up from the well with ropes, and placed in a cage.

The rescue operation, which lasted nearly two hours, was carried out by a team of experts to prevent any accident.

Senior forest officials said the animal would be taken to the animal centre at Sasan, a nearby town.

Instances of wild animals like leopards and tigers straying into residential areas are fairly common in the area, brought about by depleting forest cover and lack of natural habitat.