Uncle Maurice the randy rooster showed he was no chicken when it came to cheating death.

The plucky bird has been terrorising the female chicken population of his farmyard since his recovery.

The cockerel was first found lying in a puddle after being attacked by a fox. He had bite marks on his body and had been stripped of almost all his feathers.

Uncle Maurice was taken to the animal sanctuary owned by television writer Carla Lane, near Horsted Keynes, and kept in isolation in the hope he could make a recovery.

Although he is no spring chicken, after a couple of weeks of tender loving care he was back on his feet with only one thing on his mind.

Miss Lane said: "We let him out and he ran straight across the yard and did his stuff with the first chicken he saw.

"We couldn't believe our eyes - what a cockerel. It was like something out of a cartoon, he ran so fast.

"He was in agony when he first arrived at the sanctuary and barely alive. But the minute he recovered he didn't have eyes for anything else but the first female to cross his path.

"We thought it would kill him, all the effort, but he just preened back what were left of his feathers and got on with it."

When Uncle Maurice was brought to the sanctuary he was put in a "hospital room" to treat his injuries and shock.

He was in such pain he couldn't stand or lie down and a vet had to make him a harness cushioned with fluffy material so he could be supported.

All that has changed now.

Miss Lane said: "He just takes his pick. He has probably fathered every last one of the younger chicks.

"It wouldn't be so bad if there was any romance involved but there are no sweet little pecks on the neck.

"I suppose he thinks he is so lucky to be alive he has to make the most of the time he has left."

The cockerel was named Uncle Maurice by one of the rescue workers at the sanctuary, who said he had the same long neck and nose, and the same walk, as her late uncle.

It is uncertain whether the original Uncle Maurice, who was a priest before he passed away, would have approved of his promiscuous namesake.