Cat clings to roof of van as its owner drives 45 miles to work

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Matt Haines and Flo the catImage source, Eva Haine
Image caption,

Matt Haine drove 45 miles with his cat Flo on the roof of his van

A cat has survived a 45-mile (72km) road trip on the roof of a van.

Matt Haine was commuting from his home in Warminster, Wiltshire to Weston-super-Mare, Somerset when he heard a cat on the roof of his white Transit.

He said: "I pulled up and it just slid down the windscreen - so slowly - I saw the tail then the back legs and all of a sudden these big eyes looking at me."

It was only after he called his wife at home that he realised the windswept feline was the family's own cat Flo.

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Mr Haine, said he had just arrived at the seaside resort - after a 70 minute drive - when he saw the "silhouette of a cat walking along the top of the roof".

"All of a sudden it just slid down the roof and I'm look at it and I'm thinking is that Flo?" he said.

"There is a roof rack on the van and the only thing I can think of is that she wedged herself between the roof rack and the pipe tube - where I keep my copper pipes.

Image source, Eva Haine
Image caption,

Mr Haine said Flo had "learnt her lesson"

"She's quite a small cat but she seemed to cling on to the roof rack quite well - I don't know how many claws she's got left now."

For the return journey, Mr Haine strapped the young animal in the passenger seat and now says he checks his van over every morning before he leaves.

"She's not been on there lately mind - she's learnt her lesson," he said.

"I don't think she wants to come back again in a hurry."