A LITTER of kittens was found hiding under a stand at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Workmen discovered the four balls of fluff when packing away at the Goodwood Estate on Monday.

RSPCA inspectors were brought in and the kittens will soon be available to be rehomed.

Given their eventful young lives they have, of course, been given motoring names with RSPCA staff calling them Bentley, Lotus, Ferrari and Subaru.

The kittens are semi feral and it is unclear where they have come from. It is thought their mother was frightened away by the crowds at the annual motoring event.

They weren’t easy to catch, with RSPCA staff having to use a special trap to pin down the nervous kittens.

Clare Palmer, branch manager at RSPCA Mount Noddy, the charity’s Sussex, Chichester and District branch, was on a stall at the event.

She said: “What’s ironic is we’d been at the four-day event running a stall and raising awareness of the work we do at our centre nearby.

“We could have easily sprung into action if there had been any animal welfare issues during the course of the event. But we didn’t get a call about these kittens until we’d left the site.

“Unfortunately we weren’t able to locate mum and suspect all the commotion and crowds frightened her away. She probably moved them under the structure when all the preparation for the festival was going on in the hopes of keeping them safe. But with 200,000 people walking over the top of them it’s unsurprising she was spooked and ran away.”

The kittens are being cared for at the Mount Noddy Centre, in Westergate near Chichester, and once old enough they will be available for adoption.

A Goodwood spokesman added: “We’re really pleased the kittens are safely being looked after and hope they will find loving homes. They certainly come with the very best in motorsport credentials.”

If you’re interested in offering one of the kittens a new home, call 01243 773359.

Altervaiely you can visit: rspca.org.uk/local/sussex-chichester-and-district-branch.