A TINY otter cub had a lucky escape after being clipped by a car whilst trying to cross one of the region’s busiest roads.

The female cub, who has been named ‘Flow’’, was rescued from near-certain death after she wandered onto the A64 in North Yorkshire.

A concerned onlooker scooped up the pup and took her to his Malton home before calling the RSPCA.

RSPCA animal collection officer (ACO) Leanne Honess-Heather said: “The animal lover had been looking out of his window when he saw this poor creature tumbling across the road.

“She was dragging her back leg, so he thinks she may have been clipped by a car.

“Rushing outside, he managed to gently take her to safety before calling our RSPCA emergency hotline.

“When I arrived, I found the otter quietly curled up in the house-holder’s laundry basket.

“I’d been expecting a much larger animal, so was surprised to see how young the little thing was.

“We suspect that she became separated from her mother, took a wrong turning and got lost trying to find her way back home to the nearby River Derwent.”

Flow was holding her leg at an awkward angle so was taken to a vets where an x-ray showed no broken bones.

She was just bruised, cold and hungry, so was given food and fluids before being temporarily taken into care by Jean Thorpe at Ryedale Rehabilitation.

After a few days she was strong enough to be transferred to an RSPCA wildlife centre and will soon be moved to specialist facilities near the south coast where she will be rehabilitated.

It is hoped that eventually, she can be released back into the wild close to where she was found near the River Derwent.