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Bus driver helps rescue sheep from busy Sussex road

Brighton & Hove buses Martine Patey and a sheepBrighton & Hove buses
Martine Patey took the sheep she found on the busy A27 on board her bus to safety

A bus driver rescued a sheep from a busy dual carriageway on her first day behind the wheel.

Martine Patey, a rail replacement driver, spotted the animal on the A27 near Brighton as she took passengers to Eastbourne.

She said the animal was "causing havoc for passing cars" and "running all over the road".

With the help of two motorists, she managed to get it onto the bus and to safety.

"It was difficult to catch, but then it slipped just in front of me and I was able to get hold of it and to use my handbag strap like a lasso," she said.

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"Two other motorists had stopped to help and together we were able to hold onto it until the police arrived."

The sheep had a brief trip on the bus, after the police asking Ms Patey to take it back to a local farm.

The bus then resumed its journey to Eastbourne, arriving only one minute late.

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