A RESCUE effort was mounted when two kittens were thrown out the window of a moving van in Southend.

Residents and passers-by worked together to help find the traumatised kittens after witnesses spotted the callous van driver’s actions.

One of the two seven-week-old kittens wasn’t found for two days, but both are now being looked after at a rehoming centre.

The rescue efforts were led by Mandy Goodson, with the help of six neighbours and nearby workmen.

Mrs Goodson, 46, of Glenhurst Road, Southend, said: “I was on my way home, walking up Vale Avenue when I heard a cat crying pitifully.

“I saw a tiny kitten trying to climb up a fence. I managed to get hold of it, but it was so scared.

“A man told me someone else had seen a white van drive down, open the window and throw two kittens out. They were driving so fast the woman couldn’t get the van’s registration number.

“I took the kitten home, called Cats Protection and went back out to look for the second one.”

While the black and white female had been easy to find, it took two days of searching gardens to catch the male tabby kitten.

Mrs Goodson said: “We had him cornered a couple of times but he kept getting away. Once one of us got him, but he kept biting until he escaped.

“It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. In the end I put out a cat carrier with a blanket and bowl of food and we kept checking on the hour every hour all day until, at 9pm, we saw something in it. We used a broom to shut the door on it.

“Luckily we had caught the kitten and not a rat.

“I just don’t understand how someone could throw them out of a moving vehicle. People like that need prosecuting.”

The kittens are now in the care of Southend Cats Protection.

Rita Roberts, in charge of rehoming, said: “Luckily they didn’t need veterinary treatment from their ordeal, but the male cat, who we have named Timbo, may need a trip to the vet’s as we think he has got a cold from spending two nights outside.

“It is a dreadful thing to happen and they were both so very traumatised by it. They have slowly settled down and are quite friendly.”

Timbo and sister Posy will be ready to be homed in a couple of weeks, call Cats Protection on 01702 467001. The charity’s lost and found register can be contacted on 01702 202222.