A CAT which miraculously survived a 700 mile journey trapped in the undercarriage of a coach is celebrating two years in South Lakeland, but only after coming through a string of new scrapes.

Dave, who was just a kitten when he made that epic trip before being discovered when the coach stopped in Windermere, was adopted by Windermere Lake Cruises’ shoreside operations manager Jeff Elliott.

And in those two years, the fearless feline has been stuck in a tree during a wild storm, stranded and lost for four days after falling in a skip, been regularly stung by bees and lost a string of fights against neighbourhood moggies.

“Dave’s currently used-up 12 of his nine lives and has cost my partner Rachel and I hundreds of pounds in vets bills," said Mr Elliott.

"Basically he has no idea how to be a cat.”

The story began in September 2017 when the driver of a long distance coach reported strange squeaking sounds coming from the vehicle’s front axle during a tour of the UK in September 2017.

Investigations uncovered the kitten, which is believed to have become trapped in the coach's mechanism in Torquay and was subsequently bussed via Land's End, London and Birmingham before finally being discovered when the coach reached the Lake District.

Named Dave after Windermere Lake Cruises’ supervisor Dave Elliott who freed the terrified creature, the adventures of the kitten, who was believed to be around 10 weeks' old at the time, went viral on social media.

However, efforts to find Dave's owner proved unsuccessful and Mr Elliott stepped in to adopt him.

And that's when Dave's new adventures began as he drove his new owner to distraction.

"He scared us a lot aftere went missing for several days only to be found stuck in a skip," said Mr Elliott.

"He also has a habit of getting over-friendly with bees, which often results in a trip to the vets.

"He has no balance at all, which is amazing given that he managed to cling on to the axle of a coach for hundreds of miles.

"He loves other cats but usually gets beaten up by them, and he also likes dressing-up."

But despite all those scrapes, Dave's happy in the Lake District and Mr Elliott's just as happy to have him around.

“While on one hand he’s a walking disaster, he’s also a fun-loving cat and a great member of our family," he said.

"While it’s beyond any reasonable doubt that Dave’s dramatic relocation was unplanned, he enjoys a very happy and adventurous life here with us in Windermere.

"While he still seems to attract trouble like a moth to a flame, he always takes it in his stride.

The best news is that Dave’s adventures haven’t put him off from taking road trips with us, enjoying regular family days-out alongside our family dog, Beaux, his best friend.”