A BABY otter was rescued after wandering onto the A64 and being clipped by a car.

The animal, which is about eight weeks old, was spotted near the junction for Huttons Ambo by a passerby who called the RSPCA.

She was taken to the vet for a checkup and is now being cared for by Jean Thorpe who rescues and rehabilitates injured wildlife.

Jean said: "She shouldn't have been out on her own, she's so small. She's only just getting her tiny baby teeth. She was dragging her leg, which was a bit of a concern, but she's just bruised.

"Otters live with their mothers for eight months to a year, they aren't capable of being out on their own.

"It's not far away from the River Derwent. Something must have happened to her mother and she came out to find food herself."

Once the otter pup has recovered she will be taken to an RSPCA wildlife hospital in Norfolk and will be reared in a wildlife park with another abandoned otter of a similar age.

Jean said there is a possibility of the pair being released into the wild in Yorkshire when they are mature.