Oil drenched kitten with hours left to live is found dumped in barrel

Animal rescuers who found a dark black kitten stuck in an oil barrel cleaned him up to discover he was bright ginger.

The five-week-old kitten was plucked from a container covered in the thick black substance - and struggling to keep his head above the surface.

He looked so dark and unhappy RSPCA officials nicknamed him 'Gollum' - until they gave him a thorough wash.

They discovered underneath the dark mess was a cute ginger cat which had got stuck in the drum on industrial estate in Watford.

It is not known if the animal got himself stranded or was dumped in the oil container.