News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A plucky poultry played chicken with a car travelling at 70mph - and the car came off worse.

Driver Huang Lingyong, 31, was at the wheel when the bird-brained pedestrian suddenly crossed the road in front of him.

But instead of squashing the chicken and leaving it as roadkill, it smashed a huge hole in his bonnet, where it stayed until the car stopped moving.

The accident happened near an industrial park in Xinfeng county in south China’s Jiangxi province.

Huang said: "I braked because I am an animal lover and didn't want to harm the chicken.

"But it was too late. I heard a sickening thud and I thought the chicken had gone to meet his ancestors.

"I stopped the car, got out and walked around to the front. There was a hole in the bodywork and the chicken wedged inside.

"I thought it must be dead but then I heard a cluck-clucking and bent down to look closer. It was a little shaken up and its feathers all ruffled, but otherwise OK."

(Image: CEN)

He added: "It seemed to me to be a very good advert for the durability of chickens and a very bad one for the quality of the car that I was driving.

"I took some video with my phone and uploaded the pictures on to the web and I was not surprised when there was a lot of feedback from people who shared my opinion of the car."

The car manufacturer, a Japanese company, have insisted the bumper of the car, which was so easily destroyed by poultry, is not part of the original design, but is actually a cheap Chinese copy.