SHE HAS been dubbed a motorway miracle.

Against all the odds a two-week-old kitten survived after mysteriously ending up in the middle lane of the M27 near Southampton.

Lorry driver Richard Tubbs, 44, rescued the tiny creature after getting caught up in slow-moving traffic.

After spotting her lying helpless in the carriageway he scooped her up in his arms and took her back to his depot at Marchwood.

Daily Echo:

A colleague rushed the kitten to Hythe-based Seadown Veterinary Services, where staff christened her Monica Zoom Zoom and gave her plenty of tender loving care.

Richard, who works for storage container provider Mobile Mini, said: “The traffic was stop-start as I neared the Hedge End turn off.

“When the car in front of me moved forward I noticed a little black thing on the tarmac. I thought I saw it move so I stopped, put my hazard warning lights on and climbed down to see what it was.

“It was the smallest kitten you’d ever seen - just lying there in the centre of the M27.

“I wrapped her in my work fleece to keep her warm because her legs and body were wet from lying on the motorway surface.

“As I drove back to the yard I stroked her little head with my finger and talked to her to try to reassure her that everything would be all right. When I arrived the office manager, Emma Courtney, took charge and whizzed the little mite down to the vets at Seadown.”

Daily Echo:

No-one knows how Monica came to be in the middle of the M27 - or how she survived.

Richard said: “She might have been taken by a bird and dropped. The other possibility is that she was abandoned by someone, which doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Monica is now four weeks old and doing well.

Veterinary nurse Amanda Holyoake added: “I was on duty when this tiny black kitten was brought in. Since then we’ve been giving her all the love and care we can.

“We absolutely adore her and one of our equine vets, Laura Trigg, has fallen for her too. She and her young family are going to adopt her.”