A YOUNG otter cub that had become lost and disorientated before ending up in a business estate car park has been rescued.

Whilst at work at the Manufacturing Excellence Building at Colburn Business Park near Catterick Garrison, 22-year-old Grace Coleman’s attention was drawn to a small furry bundle scurrying across the car park.

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It approached her, continuing to step forward as she was trying to keep her distance, before it curled up underneath a parked vehicle.

Upon closer inspection, Grace and her two of her colleagues realised it was a young otter cub.

Quick-thinking Grace rang her step-father, David Long who is an experienced ecologist with Barrett Environmental Ltd.

David deduced that something wasn’t right with the cub and drove to the site, taking with him a lockable cat-box, blankets and a stout pair of gloves.

The young otter appeared to be completely disorientated and having walked under several parked vehicles and across the road, had headed into shrubs very close to the busy main road between Colburn and Catterick Garrison.

David managed to grab the young animal which wriggled hard and bit his gloved hand.

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It was clear that she had something wrong with her left eye which was opaque and after contacting several charity experts, it was decided that the otter cub should be examined by a local vet to determine if the eye required treatment.

It was then recommended that the cub be taken to the RSPCA's Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Cheshire where it will be and rehabilitated as a wild animal before being released back into the wild.

David is hopeful that the cub can eventually be returned to the Catterick area where habitats are ideal.

Had she been uninjured, attempts would have been made to reunite the cub with her mother as she would not have survived on her own.

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Otter cubs normally stay with their mother for around two years, learning how to hunt and survive, before moving away and setting up their own territories.

David said: "Without Grace’s eagle eyes and quick-thinking, the otter cub may well have ended up as yet another wildlife road casualty."

Once widespread and common, otters had almost entirely disappeared from England before a joint project between the Wildlife Trusts, water industry and Environment Agency in the late 1990s saw their population recover.

They are now present on most of the UK's waterways.

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