Kitten saved from crusher after being thrown in bin

A three-week-old kitten has been saved from being crushed to death in a recycling truck after it was dumped in a bin.

During its terrifying ordeal the female tortoiseshell kitten was thrown into a bin full of cardboard which was then emptied into the back of a waste truck.

As the truck's crusher began operating, two bin men heard her cries and immediately stopped the mechanism.

The men, who were completing their round on Cornwall Street in Plymouth, Devon, then saw the tiny kitten fall from the crusher's blades.

The kitten, which has since been named Lucky, was unharmed in the incident and is now living with a member of staff from Devon Contract Waste.