Stoat survives 32-mile trip stuck to car grille

A stoat that was hit by a sports car got stuck in its grille for a 32-mile journey at up to 70mph - and survived. The foot-long animal was struck when driver Merv Draper swerved to avoid a hedgehog.

Aircraft technician Merv, 55, was returning from a night shift at RAF Cottesmore, Rutland, to his home in Ewerby, Lincs, when he struck the creature near Colsterworth. He zipped home in his BMW Z4, not realising the stoat - nicknamed Bumper - was stuck.

Merv didn't discover it until he woke up at 11am the next day. The member of the weasel family was frantically trying to wriggle free and only its head and front legs were sticking out.



Dad-of-one Merv said: "It must be Britain's fastest stoat. His eyes would have been watering as I drove along.

"It looked like he had hit the grille side-on and the clips had opened and then shut, trapping him. I had to film it because no one would ever believe me otherwise."

Merv and wife Deborah, 42, called the RSPCA, who sent inspector Laura Jones to help free Bumper. The stoat was shaken but otherwise unhurt and will be released back into the wild.