A JAILBIRD was freed from the confines of prison walls after being released from Dartmoor Prison last week.

The 'prisoner' was in fact a tawny owlet that had managed to get itself stuck between the inner and outer walls of the prison.

'Porridge', as he has been affectionately nicknamed, is believed to be only around six weeks old and was found by one of the dog handlers. What confused his rescuers, however, was how Porridge managed to get between the walls as there are no trees or bushes nearby for obvious security reasons.

Porridge, who has now taken up residence at the Barn Owl Trust, was discovered at the end of last month, meaning he would have hatched in the middle of January when much of Dartmoor had a layer of snow.

A spokesperson for the Barn Owl Trust said: 'This is a very unusual time of year for owlets to hatch. Out of 1,220 records held by the British Trust for Ornithology with an accurate egg-laying date, the earliest on record is January 18. The egg Porridge hatched from would have been laid in mid-December, making him possibly the earliest ever recorded in the UK!

'Porridge was found with an empty stomach and was slightly underweight. He was likely not to have been fed for at least 24 hours. It was not possible to leave him where he was found and the lack of nearby trees made it very hard to know where exactly he came from in the first place. The decision was made to bring him to the Barn Owl Trust.

'Owlets are used to being fed by their parents, making them ready to take any food offered to them. This was true of Porridge who wolfed down his first few meals and is now living in an aviary at the trust until he is ready to fledge.

'Despite appearing to prefer a life behind bars, this jailbird will be released back into the wild in the summer.'

Young tawny owls and barn owls like to explore and play and are occasionally found on the ground. The Barn Owl Trust advises anyone who finds an owlet on the floor to find out what kind of owl it is.

If it is covered in white fluff and has dark eyelids, then it is a young barn owl. However, if it has speckly brown fluff with pink, flesh coloured eyelids, then it is a tawny owl like Porridge.

Once someone has identified the type of owl, they then need to give it a check to see if it is healthy. If it is a young barn owl, it is important to return it to the nest as soon as possible as the parents will not feed it on the floor.

However, tawny owls will continue to be fed and therefore it is only necessary to place the owlet off the floor to prevent it from being taken by predators. This can be done either by placing it in a tree or in some type of temporary nest such as a basket.

For more information on what to do if you find a fallen owlet, visit http://www.barnowltrust.org.uk">www.barnowltrust.org.uk