A TINY kitten was rescued from inside a car bonnet after passers-by heard crying coming from inside the car.

The RSPCA was called to Milton Road, Southampton, when a nearby resident heard the sound of a cat crying from inside a car bonnet parked on the street at about 8am last Friday.

Animal Collection Officer (ACO) Michael Standen attended to try and help free the cat from the car.

He said: “This cat was lucky kind members of the public responded to his cries and didn’t just think it was the engine purring.

“I looked under the car but I couldn’t see where the cat was trapped so it was a case of doing a bit of detective work to try and find the owner.”

The RSPCA officer called the council as the owner of the car, a red Peugeot, was nowhere to be found.

When he was unable to track the car owner down he then contacted the car company to try and trace where the car had been bought from and if they still had the buyers details.

He also called the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service animal rescue adviser for assistance to free the stricken kitty.

Michael and Adrian Knight from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Services came to his aid and were all set to jack up the car and try and free the cat from inside the vehicle when the owner of the car arrived having received a call from the company he bought his motor from.

Michael added: “He was still on the phone to the company when he came to meet us.

“He popped the bonnet and there was this tiny black and white kitten, literally just sat on top of the battery staring up at us.

“I quickly picked up the six-week-old kitten and put him in the carrier. It was lucky the owner of the car was around as we wouldn’t have been able to reach the cat from underneath the vehicle.”

The kitten is now being cared for by RSPCA Stubbington Ark in Hampshire.

The kitten does not have a microchip so is now being looked after by a foster carer until he can be rehomed.