Chicken rescued after being found in Chelmsford park bin

The chicken was found sitting in a bin in the park

A woman admitted to being "somewhat surprised" when she found a live chicken sitting inside a bin in a park.

Marleen Tamtik, 19, was with her brother in Andrews Park, Chelmsford at about 18:00 BST on Wednesday when she heard children shouting about a chicken, she said.

"I thought they'd just found some chicken nuggets, but it was real."

She called for help via social media and the chicken was rescued and cared for at a local rescue centre.

When she heard all the children running around and shouting about a chicken, Ms Tamtik thought they were "pranking", as Essex Live first reported.

"Then my brother came up and said, 'really, there's a chicken in the bin'," she told the BBC.

"I took a look and thought, 'oh it really is, and it's alive'.

"It was so bizarre - you don't see that sort of thing every day."

Ms Tamtik lifted the chicken out of the bin and popped it on the grass before trying to call the RSPCA, but she could not get an answer.

The chicken wandered around the grass for a while before being rescued

"I honestly didn't know what to do, so I posted photos in a local Facebook community group and asked for help," she said.

"I had to get home and I couldn't take the chicken with me as I have a dog, so I left when I was told help was on the way."

One of the people in the Facebook group runs a small animal rescue centre and came to the aid of the chicken.

She said the bird would need care and attention, and has now been passed to an experienced chicken-keeper.

Following a period of quarantine, it will be able to join the rest of the flock, she added.

Ms Tamtik said she was not sure how or why the chicken ended up in the bin.

"My initial thought was that it had been dumped, then someone said it might have hopped in there, but it's a pretty tall bin," she said.