Little Owls found under the bonnet of Land Rover Freelander belonging to Marwell Wildlife

Feathers were ruffled at a Hampshire garage when a pair of baby birds were found making a bid for life in the fast lane, by hiding out under the bonnet of a Land Rover.

A mechanic discovered the fluffy stowaways cowering between pipes and the headlights as he carried out an MOT on the Freelander at Harding Vehicle Repairs in Fair Oak.

Service manager Ben McAllister said: “I was called over by our mechanic Tim and he said we might have to stop the M.O.T.

“I went and had a look and basically there were two baby owls. It was bizarre. I had never seen anything like it in my life.

Sometimes you get the odd mouse or dead bird but never two baby owls alive.”

When Ben went to break the news to the car’s owner that the test had to stop, he was amazed to discover it belonged to nearby Marwell Wildlife.

The chicks were identified as Little Owls, but after it was confirmed they were wild rather than from the park’s collection, they were placed in a box and released near where their mother was known to live. Gordon Campbell, Marwell’s curator of birds, said: “They’ve now disappeared and there is a chance that the parents have found them. They are robust little things and will probably recover OK.”