DORSET Wildlife Trust has reported three appearances of the elusive and normally nocturnal otter.

Staff said that the most intriguing incident came about in North Street, Charminster.

A large and beautiful male, having been hit by a car, was taken in a laundry basket to a house in the village.

Trust conservation officer Rachel Janes said: “Vets from Southfield Veterinary Surg-ery were called but the otter decided that he was sufficiently active to run around the garage in which he was confined for 15 minutes before eventually being caught.

“Considering the mammal well enough to be released, the vets took it to the nearby River Cerne and watched him swim away.”

A dead female otter has also been found by tree workers on the railway line at West Stafford having apparently been hit by a train.

The third report involved another dead otter, this time a male, found by RSPB staff.

It died on Weymouth Way in Weymouth. Staff at the RSPB’s Radipole Lake Reserve periodically find signs of otters but this is the first positive record in the town for many years.

Anyone finding a dead otter should contact the Environment Agency on 0800 807060.