I have been involved with wildlife rescue work for 15 years. I am becoming increasingly concerned about the volume of road casualty animals and even more so about the lack of concern by motorists who do not stop and check the animal afterwards.

Although I drive a wildlife ambulance, I stopped as I saw a black cat lying in a busy coastal main road in Newhaven recently.

I was in a queue of traffic with at least 15 cars in front of me and not one of them stopped to look at the cat.

Even though the cat was on the central white line and looked dead, I stopped to check it and move it out of the road to show it a little respect. I was shocked to find it was still alive.

Stopping the traffic, I carefully moved it to the side of the road, where I administered first-aid treatment.

With the help of our rescuer from Peacehaven, Lindy King, I loaded the cat into our wildlife ambulance and drove to VetCall in Kemp Town.

I was shown through to the operating room, where the vet and nurse put him on a drip, administered painkillers and gave him oxygen.

Not knowing who the owner was, I contacted Brighton Pet Ambulance and, a few days later, I received a telephone call from the owner saying the cat had survived and had just broken its jaw.

The vet had operated on the jaw and wired it back together. The cat should make a full recovery.

If I had taken the attitude of the motorists in front of me and not stopped, the cat would have died a slow and painful death on the road or been hit again by another car.

We move badgers, foxes hedgehogs, birds, deer and other wildlife out of roads to prevent other animals who may feed off them from being hit by cars.

This is not the first time I have come across a road casualty that someone else has hit and not stopped for. Sussex Police are extremely good at reporting road casualties to us after motorists have failed to stop and check them.

Surely it should be illegal to drive on without stopping if you hit any animal?

However, it costs approximately £45 every time we get called out. If you can help us or if you find a wildlife road casualty, please contact us on our 24-hour rescue line, 07815 078234.

-Trevor Weeks, County Rescue Co-ordinator, East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service, South Road, Hailsham