Purr-fect ending for kitten rescued from car engine

"Bruce Leigh" has a new home after he was rescued "clinging on for dear life" under the bonnet of a car

They do say an engine purrs...

And imagine the surprise of firefighters when they lifted a car bonnet - and it was an eight-week-old kitten who was doing all the purring.

The crew had been called out by members of the public to help the stranded kitten in Mansfield Road, Nottingham, on 28 July.

After his rescue, he was named "Bruce Leigh" after the two firefighters who saved him.

Mr Mason was left holding the "feisty" kitten because he was the only one with gloves

The call-out was attended by watch manager Leigh Curtis and firefighter Bruce Mason from Arnold Fire Station, who were both nearby.

Ms Curtis said it was "a bit of a strange place" for a cat to become stuck.

"My worry was that he'd got into the engine, maybe at the home address, and that way he could then be trapped by the mechanisms and travelled some distance.

"But then one of the ladies said he hadn't, so as soon as I knew it wasn't physically trapped, I was able to get both my hands around it, and it was clinging on for dear life."

Despite the best efforts from the public, no suitable container was found, and the cat had to be carried by hand to the vet

After discovering "Bruce Leigh" was unchipped, he was allowed to go home with a member of the public who was able to find him a new permanent owner.

He has now moved in with his new owners in the village of Tutbury, Staffordshire.

Meanwhile, Ms Curtis said it was "a lovely feeling" to see the cat have a happy ending.

"One of the things about rescuing any animal or human from an incident is that we don't often get to know what's happened afterwards.

"I'm glad we got it out and got it to safety because I think otherwise it running across a busy road could've potentially caused an accident."