A pair of cat lovers from Sandbeds have a new feline friend after they rescued a stricken kitten in Spain.

Husband and wife Craig and Jenny Scull found the injured, stray kitten lying on rocks on the coast near Alicante.

After falling in love with newly-named Rocky, the caring couple hatched a plan to bring him home.

Mr Scull, 48, a crematorium worker, said: “He was at death’s door when we saw him.

“I knew that as soon as my wife picked him up he wasn’t going back on the rocks. We love cats, and now that we’ve saved Rocky, we hope he can have a decent life.”

Mr Scull said he and his wife, a nurse, regularly travel to the area for their holidays.

They were staying at their apartment for a week-long break when they stumbled upon Rocky while visiting a nearby marina.

Mr Scull said: “It was baking hot so I don’t think he’d have lasted much longer.

“We later found out he’d been hit by a bicycle and injured his back leg.”

The couple took him to a vet where they were told that because Rocky was so young the injury should heal by itself.

The assessment proved correct, but the Sculls had to return to England without the kitten because he was too young to qualify for a pet passport.

But an animal welfare charity based in Spain arranged the documents and injections necessary for Rocky to be transported to England.

He arrived in England earlier this month and joined the Sculls and their two other cats.

Mr Scull said: “We think he’s about four or five months old, but it’s hard to tell because he’s a bit small.

“He’s eating like a horse now, so he’ll put on weight fairly quickly.

“We’re keeping him indoors for now because we daren’t let him out. But he’s champion – he’s up and down the curtains just like a typical kitten.”