A wild pigeon made its way into a woman's home and refused to leave before staying for the the night.

Stephanie Ellesmera was stunned when the pigeon sauntered into her flat and literally made itself at home.

Designer/illustrator Stephanie, who goes by Steph, said: “It was a sunny day so I decided to open the window that leads on to our balcony - no one ever uses it and it was covered in leaves.

“I went out to take some pictures and noticed a pigeon just sitting in the corner. I didn’t think much of it, but I noticed it kept looking at me."

Stephanie, from London, became distracted with work until, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the pigeon had made its way inside.

She added: “It got curious, hopped inside and started walking around my room. That’s when I started filming - I had no idea what else to do!

“Eventually I got back to work and it came over and sat on my laptop.”

After a few hours of hanging out with the pigeon, Steph decided to do some research and contact an expert about what to do.

She said: “I found a phone number for a pigeon rescue so I called to ask for advice. I told them that this was probably someone’s pet or at least hand-raised - it didn’t have a ring on its leg though, so that made it complicated.

“The rescue said they were coming the next day so I made a comfy box with towels and let it roam around."

The pigeon spent the night with Stephanie until experts picked her up the next day.

She added: "The rescue have been giving me daily updates on her condition, which I really appreciate.

"They said it's best that she is released into the wild so, as soon as she's fit and healthy, she'll be set free."