EMERGENCY mechanic Mark Bilbey went to fix a mystery leaking fuel pipe and discovered that it had been gnawed through by a hungry mouse.

AA patrolman Mr Bilbey, 30, was called to a petrol station on Little Marlow Road, Marlow, by a driver who was alarmed at fuel leaking from the underneath of his Fiat Punto hire car.

When Mr Bilbey examined the car last Thursday he was shocked to find a nest on the top of the fuel pipe complete with leaves and bits of straw.

The pipe was leaking fuel from a number of small bite marks.

Mr Bilbey, of Carisbrooke Avenue, High Wycombe, believes they could only have been caused by a mouse.

He said: "In these situations I usually lift the back seat up to get access to the fuel pipe.

"When I looked inside I was amazed to find a small nest there. When I cleared it out I could see a couple of bite marks in the pipe.

"A mouse had obviously been having a go at it."

He added: "It is probably the strangest thing I have seen in my career. I was also amazed because this is a new car.

"The driver, who was from America, just didn't know what to make of it all."

An AA spokesman said he had never heard of a breakdown caused by a mouse before. "It's very unusual," he said.

"We've had breakdowns involving cats and birds but never a mouse."

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