Seagull wedged in front of car after being hit on A1(M)

A lucky seagull survived being smashed into by a car along a motorway before travelling for several miles stuck in the vehicle's grille.

The bird was left dangling from the front bumper while the unsuspecting motorist drove along the A1(M) between Aycliffe and Darlington.

The shocked driver only realised the animal was lodged beneath his numberplate after he got to Darlington train station around eight miles away.

Realising the danger the bird was in, the driver immediately called Darlington Bird Rescue, who came to the animal's aid.

Despite being trapped inside the vehicles grille for miles, rescuers were shocked to find the gull relatively unscathed.

He had only suffered a bruised back and amazingly had escaped without any broken bones.

In a social media post, Darlington Bird Rescue said: "Well, this was an unexpected call, especially on a day when we are closed, but we couldn't not help.

"This poor guy was hit today at high speed on the motorway as a driver came to the train station in Darlington from Aycliffe.

"He didn't realise that this fella was in his grill until he got a message reporting it.

"The gull had himself wedged pretty darn good.

"Miraculously, he has no breaks. His wings are fine, his legs are fine, his back is sore but there are no palpable abnormalities in the tissues or bone.

"He has no big scrapes, no big wounds, just a few leg scrapes and a lot of damaged feathers.

"The only spot of blood? A broken feather growing in that had bled. That could even happen with an aggressive preen.

"He will have a lot of monitoring, some painkillers, and all the food he could wish for to make up for his lucky escape."