Veterinary nurse, Claire Lawton arrived at work to find a pair of unexpected customers.

The 23-year-old discovered two abandoned kittens in the car park outside the Mildmay Veterinary Centre, in Winnall, Winchester.

Staff had no idea where they came from, but believe their owners may have simply left them after feeling unable to look after them.

On arriving at around 7.30am, she saw what looked like a box with a coat over it. "I went over to investigate, peeled back the jacket and saw two very scared-looking kittens staring back at me," said Claire.

"I checked the coat pockets, but there was no name, no address, no letter or anything. I was a bit surprised and asked if anyone was expecting anyone to drop off some cats for an operation, but they all said no."

After staff gave the six-month-old kittens a clean bill of health and a good meal, it wasn't long before they were happily purring in their new surroundings.

Within a few hours the new arrivals also had new names-Jim and Rosie, after the children's TV characters. "I thought that was nice, as they were obviously a pair," said Claire.

The centre held onto their new friends for 24 hours in case their owners came back to claim them before passing them to the Winchester branch of the Cats Protection League, to be found new owners.

"I'm just glad they were brought here instead of dumping them in a cardboard box somewhere. At least they cared enough to bring them to the vets," said Claire.

She added that anyone considering having a pet should think carefully about how much they will cost them and whether they feel able to cope with the responsibility.

"I've got quite attached to them, but I'll be pleased to see them go to a nice home. I think whoever has them will have a lot of fun," she added.