SHEEVA the kitten is already down to eight lives after accidentally hitching a lift in the engine compartment of a car.

The five-month-old kitten clung on for dear life in searing heat under the bonnet for five miles before the unsuspecting driver stopped to do some shopping.

And the cat on the hot tin Fiat lived to tell the tale as, dazed and overheated, she finally crawled out into Somerfield's car park at Selby where she was rescued by supermarket staff.

They put the kitten in a cardboard box and took her to Selby civic centre where dog warden Bill Parker ferried her to the address on her collar - this time in an air-conditioned van.

When Mr Parker turned up at the house in Oxen Lane, Cliffe, Chris Rowe, 26, explained that it was his girlfriend Jude Hickson's home and Sheeva was one of her cats. He had been unaware it was a passenger in his Fiat Panda.

Mr Rowe, of Barlby, said: "I hadn't a clue Sheeva was under the bonnet - it was a very warm day and it must have been red hot in the engine compartment."

Relieved owner Jude, 33, said: "Apart from being a bit dirty, Sheeva seems none the worse for wear."