A plucky turkey that was originally meant for Christmas dinner, was found wandering around Bentley’s Meadow in Seal, Sevenoaks, on February 6.

Tom, the female white turkey, was spotted by neighbours who live on the housing estate. They contacted the RSPCA who came catch the escapee.

Tina Nash, a rescuer with the charity organisation said: “She gave me the run-around but after chasing around the car park and some local gardens I was finally able to catch her when she tried to escape through some thick evergreen hedging and got stuck.

"Thankfully I was able to locate her owner, who lived nearby. They’d bought Tom and reared her to eat for Christmas dinner but then decided that they couldn’t bear to slaughter her and were now struggling to take care of her so asked if we could find her a new home.”

Newly named Thomasina was signed over into the RSPCA’s care and moved to a smallholding where she was placed into quarantine due to avian flu. Once she’s completed her quarantine she’ll begin the search for a new home.