Lost little bird rescued by mother and daughter near Grantham church

A bird that had sought shelter at St Wulfram's was rescued with the help of a mother and daughter from Grantham.

Pam Hansen and her daughter Susan Copping helped to rescue a little auk, which they named Arwen, from St Wulfram’s Church during a visit to the Christmas Tree Festival on Saturday.

As they were about to leave the festival at around midday, Father Stuart Cradduck, rector of St Wulfram's, was in the process of helping the bird, who had sought shelter under the door ramp in the porch.

He explained that the bird had been in the church yard for a couple of hours before it got into the porch.

Pam and Susan offered to take Arwen to a rescue centre, where the bird was identified as a little auk, who are related to penguins and puffins.

The species are typically found on the north east coast and it is believed that Arwen was blown off course by the storms that took place late last week.

Pam, a senior domiciliary carer, said: "After phoning a couple of wildlife rescue centres we were advised to contact the RSPCA."

They transferred Arwen to an old hamster cage and Susan,who is a teaching assistant at Belton Lane Primary School, kept it overnight.

Pam continued: "The RSPCA collected Arwen on Sunday morning and took it to Wild Things Rescue.

"The last update was that Arwen was doing well and eating and that it would be released once the weather had calmed down."