A young barn owl managed to escape from a sticky situation thanks to a lady house sitting on a farm near Totnes.

The bird had managed to get coated in molasses used feed sheep. It’s likely it managed to get trapped in the bucket after chasing a rat or mouse attracted by the sticky substance.

Kirsteen Atkinson Annear found the bird, which she first mistook for a chicken, and took it to Seymour Vets in Totnes wrapped in a towel.

Vet Huw Peplow said: “We’ve managed to to clean the bird but in the process it damages the feathers so it will have to moult and grow new feathers.”

The care was carried out by nurse Beth Lewis who cleaned it up and looked after it for three days.

Dr Mateo Ruiz, from the Barn Owl Trust, said the owl becoming trapped in the bucket was likely because it had been chasing a rodent which was attracted to the molasses.

He confirmed the bird was "recovering well"

Dr Ruiz said: "This is down to the care and quick response of the initial rescuer, the vet, the veterinary nurse, and a local raptor rehabilitator, all of whom were vital to the positive outcome."

The young Owl will now spend the winter recovering with an experienced falconer in South Brent before being released in the spring.