PARAMEDIC Jean Beavers saved the life of a tiny weasel - and has now adopted him as a pet.

Jean, 55, from Clifton Moor, York, was alerted to the animal's faint squeaks on her small plot of farm land in Wigginton.

She noticed he was barely breathing so she took him home and nursed him back to full health.

"I thought his mother would be going back for him, but I checked three hours later and he was still there," said Jean, who has named him Diesel.

"I fed him every two hours and kept him in a snake tank to keep him warm."

Jean was recently forced to save Diesel's life a second time when a friend accidentally crushed him with her elbow.

"He shouldn't really still be alive," she said.

"I put his whole body inside one of my oxygen masks and did a bit of physio on him by walking around until his mobility came back."

Jean said Diesel made a great fun pet and had the run of the house. She revealed he had even tried to get into the bath with her.

"Diesel means the world to me," she said.

"He has come so far and been through an awful lot. I didn't expect him to survive the night.

"He is a lucky, lucky lad and has got more lives than a cat."

Jean said weasels were wonderful animals and great fun to have around the house.

Updated: 10:06 Friday, July 22, 2005