Helpless kittens are saved from a crusher with seconds to spare

Four kittens have been saved from a crusher with seconds to spare after they got trapped in a skip filled with cardboard.

The three girls and one boy were spotted just in time by workers at a recycling centre in Witney, Oxon, on June 12.

The helpless, six-week-old kittens, who have since been named Pepper, Olly, Felicity and Serendipity, were mewing pitifully in the rubbish just yards from the crusher.

The staff, from the B&E Transport and Recycling Centre, gently lifted them from the piles of waste and took them to Cornyard Veterinary Practice. 

After they were taken into the care of the RSPCA who are now seeking loving forever homes for them. It is not known whether they were dumped at the rubbish site.

Sharon Chrisp, operations manager for the Oxfordshire RSPCA branch, said: ‘Thank goodness the kittens were discovered! I can’t even bear to think about the possibility of them being accidentally crushed with the recycling. 

‘A very lucky rescue indeed! We are immensely grateful to B&E Transport and Recycling Centre staff who made the discovery and took the kittens to safety.

‘They would have been so hard to spot curled up in the recycling, it’s really a miracle they were found. 

‘We aren’t sure if they were abandoned or feral – it could be mum found a cosy quiet spot in the cardboard to set up home with her kittens or someone deliberately dumped them there.

‘I am delighted to say that all the kittens are doing really well in foster care and have received all the appropriate veterinary treatment, as well as lots of love and care. They are absolutely adorable and love to be picked up and stroked.

‘They will be looking for their forever homes in early July, naturally they have already had a lot of interest though.’