Chickens thrown into McDonald's in Stockton and Billingham

This chicken landed in the kitchen at Wolviston Services' McDonald's. It has been named Nugget

Pranksters threw live chickens through the serving hatches of two McDonald's 'drive-thru' restaurants on Teesside.

The first trick happened at the Portrack Lane branch, Stockton, and the second took place at Wolviston Services, Billingham, both on Monday at about 18:00 GMT.

The RSPCA said a man has admitted his involvement and will be spoken to.

The bird from the Wolviston branch has been given a home by an RSPCA inspector and named Nugget.

A group of youths are believed to have ordered and paid for food but instead of collecting it threw the chicken through the serving hatch

Helen Laville was with her seven-year-old daughter at the Portrack restaurant.

'Distressed'

She told BBC Tees: "I was stood at the counter when staff opened the hatch to serve some food and a fully grown live chicken was thrown through.

"It settled on the floor of the kitchen. Staff started shouting, 'there's a chicken in the restaurant'.

"It was a bit distressed. It was making a mess and bleeding a little from its foot.

"My daughter wouldn't eat her meal. It led to some interesting conversations about the food chain. I think she will be ordering a burger next time instead of nuggets."

Ron Crawford, of the RSPCA, has given it a new home with his flock of chicken.

A spokesman from the charity said it "would like to discourage people from repeating such pranks".

"Chickens are protected animals under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and subjecting them to pranks such as this could be an offence," she said.

A McDonald's spokesman confirmed the two pranks took place on Monday evening and said the RSPCA was investigating.

The incident at Wolviston Services was the second in two days