THE Furness community rallied together to raise hundreds of pounds for a kitten which faced being put to sleep after it was hit by a car.

More than £540 was collected in the space of a just a couple of hours for Animal Refuge to help subsidise veterinary costs for a 12-week kitten which was hit on the Askam bypass.

The kitten, which was discovered by a cyclist on the stretch of road, has suffered possible fractures to the front and back legs.

Phil Harper, who lives in Askam, took the injured animal to the vets after it was found lying in the middle of the road.

He said: “I was driving my wife to Barrow when I noticed a cyclist walk into the middle of the road who had picked something up.

“A car in front of me pulled over, as did I, when we noticed a cyclist had picked up a kitten that had been hit by a car.

“I have no idea who the cyclist was but she saved the kitten from certain death."

He added: "The car that was in front of me couldn’t do anything, as she had a dog in car, so I offered to take it to vets.”

The kitten has since been taken to Grove Vets on Rawlinson Street, Barrow.

It is suspected to have suffered a fractured front and back leg.

Mr Harper said he was ‘absolutely overwhelmed’ by the response.

He said: “It just goes to show the true generosity of all the pet-lovers out there.”

It is not currently illegal to report an accident resulting in injury or death to a cat.

However, The Cats Bill calls for a change to the Road Traffic Act (1988) making it a legal requirement that drivers stop and give information to the police.