Sacre Bleu! A cat owned by one of our vicars smuggled itself into France by stowing away in the family caravan.
Revd Jane Brown of St Mary’s Garforth, and husband Paul, (pictured) had just pulled into a motorway services at the start of their summer holiday when they heard a desperate miaow.
"Our cat Squishy was in a storage area under the bed and must have been there for 24 hours.
“She came out very pleased to see us but we were thinking, 'What do we do?'" Revd Jane said.
The Browns phoned their vets in Wetherby for advice and Squishy was then injected against rabies and given a French pet passport.
They also had to extend their planned holiday to three weeks at a cost of an extra £500, although Revd Jane had to fly home after the first week.
Meanwhile Mr Brown took on gardening jobs at a campsite in the Morvan region, near Dijon, in exchange for free accommodation.
"We were really worried about Squishy in the heat, so Paul moved her as north as he could, to Le Touquet near Calais," Revd Jane said. "But the heatwave moved further north, too!"
Ice packs and flannels were needed to cool Squishy down when temperatures in the caravan soared to 51C
"To let you do that, you can tell how much she needed it," Revd Jane said.
Squishy and Mr Brown returned home on Saturday to a warm welcome from the congregation at St Mary's.