Raúl Hernández Berenguer, who claims not to like animals, late for work yesterday morning because a small kitten seeking warmth had got itself trapped under the bonnet of his C-4 that had been parked outside his house in Pinto (Madrid) since last Friday night.

Mr Berenguer was made aware on Sunday morning when a Local Police officer called to the scene by a small crowd of concerned neighbours, knocked on his door to advise him of the fact.

When Mr Berenguer found that the kitten was still there on Monday morning, he phoned his boss to explain what had happened, putting his mobile next to the engine so that the kitten's pitiful whimpering could be heard, then drove the car some 200 metres to a nearby garage where the engine had to be almost totally dismantled to rescue the kitten, which has been adopted by one of the mechanics.