AN appeal has been launched to find the owners of a particularly independent cat, which hitched a ride along the A1 in a lorry.

The female tortoiseshell, christened Ferri by RSPCA staff, was spotted by workers at Ferrow Monk Systems wandering around an isolated lorry park just off the major road near Sherburn in Elmet, North Yorkshire.

They guessed that she had become trapped in the back of one of the lorries that visit the site.

The RSPCA, which is caring for Ferri, is having problems finding the owners, as they could be anywhere in the UK.

Society inspector Gill Corder said: "She is not wearing an identification collar, but is in very good condition, which leads us to believe that she is owned and her family are probably distraught.

"We're hoping that someone will recognise her picture and we will be able to reunite her with her owners as soon as possible."

She urged pet owners to microchip their animals. If Ferri had undergone the painless procedure, which involves inserting a tiny microchip into the loose skin at the back of an animal's neck, her owners could have been tracked down immediately.

Ferri is at the RSPCA's animal home in Landing Lane, York, and will stay there until the owners are traced or she can be rehomed.