A mechanic spent five hours searching through a car to help two hapless kittens who were stuck inside the engine.

The driver was concerned when he heard meows coming from inside while he filled up a petrol station in Lopburi, central Thailand, on June 15.

Rescue workers arrived and opened the car's front hood but they could not find any kittens. They thought they were stuck deeper inside so they towed the car to the nearby garage.

After an hour of looking, the mechanic and the rescuer finally saw the kitten hiding behind the wheel arch.

They had to remove the side parts of the car to help the kitten as they could not reach it from the engine.

While they were putting the part back to the car, they heard another cat crying from the inside so they examined the car thoroughly and found it stuck deeper.

They spent another two hours before they were able to rescue the second kitten from the car.

The car owner said that earlier in the morning his neighbour had asked him about her missing cat but he thought they ran away.

He said: "My neighbour came to me asking about his missing kittens as they always come to play at my house.

"I helped her look for them but we did not find anything so I drove off to work and stopped by the gas station."

He added that it was a relief that the kittens survived because he also liked them.

He said: "Fortunately, they were not hurt by the heat of the engine because I did not want to see them dead as I am a cat lover as well."