Navy helicopter engineer dismantles car to save kitten

A helicopter engineer dismantled a Volkswagen Golf to rescue an injured stray kitten that had become trapped in the car's engine chamber.

Adam Hughes was leaving work at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Culdrose, near Helston, when he spotted the kitten on the edge of the airfield.

Before he could pick up the injured tabby it escaped under a parked car and jumped into the engine chamber.

The car's owner gave Mr Hughes permission to dismantle the car.

When Mr Hughes first spotted the kitten he noticed it was dragging its back leg behind it.

As he and two junior aircrew approached the kitten it jumped onto the exhaust pipe of a nearby car and into the engine chamber.

Despite the trio searching with their phone torches, the kitten was nowhere to be seen.

The car's owner was in a nearby hangar and gave Mr Hughes permission to dismantle the car.

Shortly after, the kitten was discovered inside a hole between the wheel arch and liner and the trio were eventually able to get the injured stray out.

Mr Hughes called Cats Protection's Cornwall Adoption Centre, having adopted his family's late cat Orlando from there 11 years previously.

He said his cat had only passed away the day before.

It was quickly established the kitten had a broken leg and so it was rushed to the vets for emergency surgery to amputate its leg and give it the best chance of survival.

Adoption centre manager Samantha Lawton said it was unlikely the kitten would have survived without the helicopter engineer's help.

Ms Lawton said she believed the tabby was one of three stray kittens on RNAS Culdrose that the centre had been arranging to catch.

The kitten is now with an experienced foster carer and is learning how to walk with three legs.

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