Kitten used up one of its nine lives after being accidentally fed through recycling machine

A kitten has had a miraculous escape after being mistakenly fed into industrial machinery at a recycling plant, and popping out again at the other end, unscathed. Stig, a six-week-old black moggy, was heard before he was seen at the Rainham center on Friday May 29 after finding himself going along a conveyor belt into industrial machinery at the recycling plant in Rainham, Essex.

But miraculously he appeared at the other end, unscathed. Site supervisor Daniel Coker, 34, heard Stig's distressed meows from inside the heavy machine which separated different types of rubbish, and then was very relieved when the young cat popped out the other side. He said: "I can't quite believe he survived - what a lucky escape. The machinery was pretty heavy duty so it was quite some miracle.
"There was nothing I could do when I heard the cat's cries from inside, but then he popped out the other end on the conveyor belt in between blocks of metal - stressed but unhurt." Mr Coker scooped up the little kitten, named Stig by staff after the popular children's story character Stig Of The Dump, and gave him some comfort, before calling the RSPCA which has taken him into its care and now hopes to find him a happy new home to help him recover from his ordeal.

Deborah Satchell, manager at Danaher Animal Home in Essex, where Stig is being kept, said: "It is hard to say exactly how Stig ended up in that recycling plant. He could have climbed into the bin and curled up to sleep, which was then gone unnoticed by the bin men. The important thing is that he wasn't hurt, and this kind man spotted him, cared for him, and called us. Stig is a little anxious for obvious reasons but is doing well, and we hope we can find him a happy new home soon."