"I'd landed at Birmingham after a holiday and travelled via Bristol and Bath before arriving in Cornwall quite late," Grimmer, a member of the Naval Air Squadron known as the "Flying Tigers", said

After he heard what sounded like a cat, Grimmer searched the car, looking in the boot, and under the bonnet, but could not find the source of the meow.

On arriving at the airbase in Cornwall, Grimmer enlisted help. "I called up some of our air engineers who came and helped me to start dismantling my pride and joy," he said.