A GARAGE mechanic was confronted with an unusual challenge last week — a car that was miaowing like a cat. Sure enough, when Lee Maddison checked over the Mazda MX5 belonging to customer Alan Williams, he found a young kitten inside the panels of the fron

A GARAGE mechanic was confronted with an unusual challenge last week - a car that was miaowing like a cat.

Sure enough, when Lee Maddison checked over the Mazda MX5 belonging to customer Alan Williams, he found a young kitten inside the panels of the front wing.

Mr Williams, 62, told The Hunts Post: "When I heard the noise, I checked under the bonnet but couldn't see a cat so I thought it must be a mechanical noise."

The kitten, named Tinky, had gone missing from one of Mr Williams' neighbours in Wyton two days before she was discovered five miles away at Maddison Motors, in Old Hurst, where his car was due for work.

Mr Williams, who is chairman of Houghton and Wyton parish council, said: "We checked over the car and spotted Tinky between the inner and outer panels of the front wing. We had to take the door off to get her out.

"We think she must have squeezed into the engine when it was warm, then the next time the car was started she scrambled into the wing."

After a search of the village, Mr Williams located Tinky's owner, Babs Winter, who said she was glad to have the 11-week-old back home unscathed.

"Cats are so inquisitive, particularly when they are young," she said. "We have a cat flap and it looks like she just went for a wander down the road.

"It is a wonder she was still alive having gone all the way to Wyton."

Mrs Winter added: "Our old cat Sooty once got locked in a garage somewhere down our road - they seem to get themselves into all kinds of mischief."

TILLY, the cat who decided to travel by bus, has been reunited by her owner after last week's report in The Hunts Post - except that it turns out that "she" is a he.

Owner, Melissa Bayes from Huntingdon said they knew that Tilly was a boy, but it was named as a kitten by friends and everyone had got used to the name - including Tilly. She said the cat was a favourite pet of her daughter, Suzannah, 10.

She said: "Once we realised he was missing, we phoned round all the vets and we put up posters but he seemed to have completely disappeared until our neighbour saw the story in The Hunts Post - we are very grateful. We would not have realised that he had gone that far. Suzannah has cut out the story and she plans to take it to school. She was very upset went Tilly went missing and she won't let him out of her sight now."

As reported last week, The Cats Protection League in Eynesbury came to the rescue after Tilly was found on the top of a bus, which had travelled from Huntingdon to St Neots. He has now been neutered and fitted with a chip.

Mrs Bays said: "We live near the bus depot, I think he climbed onto a bus and decided to have a nap and then the bus started up with him on board. He absolutely loves people, he would go to anyone. He is 13 months old now so we think he was going out at night looking for female cats. He is at that age.