'Dramatic and scary': Driver does a runner after car crashes into wall of Northampton ferret sanctuary

Seventeen ferrets had the shock of their lives when a car crashed into an animal sanctuary in Northampton this week.

The driver made off after destroying the garden wall of Abington Ferret Refuge on Broadway East sometime before 10am and left the keys on the floor on Wednesday (January 27).

The animals' outdoor cage was knocked over too, leaving sanctuary owner Cathy Cadden worried for their safety but luckily none were physically injured, while some ferret graves were also destroyed.

"It was quite dramatic and scary," Cathy, who has been running the rescue centre from her house for more than 10 years, told the Chronicle & Echo.

Cathy did not hear any noise but only noticed the red Vauxhall Corsa sticking out of the wall of an alleyway when she looked out of the kitchen window.

She could not get to the hutch from her home so she raced around the block to get to the other side of the wreckage and check on the ferrets.

The incident had left a hole in the hutch but fortunately none of the animals had escaped - they are currently indoors for observation.

"The fact I couldn't get into the animals' hutch as it was at such a bad angle and the possibility of them being injured was awful but they weren't. It's unbelievable really," she said.

Police officers arrived at around midday to remove the car and they helped Cathy put the hutch back upright and clear some rubble.

A Northamptonshire Police spokeswoman said officers are actively trying to find and arrest the driver.

None of her neighbours saw the crash but Cathy struggles to understand how it happened as the alley is used to access the garages and the car must have been going quite fast to do so much damage.

The wall, fence and gate were smashed to pieces but the sanctuary owner was most upset by the damage to several animal memorials, including her first ferret, Mr Graffiti.

"The worst thing of all was the destruction of my grave pots - when they die I bury them in pots - but the car destroyed those," she said.

Cathy has so far spent £300 on temporary fixes to the wall and hutch but is unsure how much permanent repairs will cost or if it will be worth claiming on her insurance or not.

She currently has 170 ferrets in her care at the sanctuary, which is one of just 12 refuges dedicated to the animals in the country.

Anyone with information should call police on 101.