A RATHER unusual visitor was caught on camera at Salisbury Cathedral. 

Lay Vicar Steve Abbott and Counter Tenor who also runs Salisbury Cathedral’s Youth Choir came across an otter when he was walking into the cathedral for Evensong yesterday (Tuesday March 1) at around 5pm. 

"As I approached the door to the Cloisters an otter popped out and went into the Cloisters and then did a circuit of it," he said.

He says the otter made its way to the entrance of the cathedral but luckily as it approached the door someone was coming out which stopped it from going inside.

"If the otter had gone in it would have been extremely difficult to catch in the cathedral. It then made its way round the Cloisters again then into the central bit where the grass Cedar tree is curled up under a box hedge, I think it was probably very scared.

"As far as I'm aware it then made its way out and presumably back to the river somewhere."

This was a first for Steve, who has been singing at the cathedral for 35 years who says he was "very surprised" to see the otter.

He added: "Occasionally a bird will fly into the cathedral and get trapped. We have a donkey on Palm Sunday and camels at Epiphany but this is probably a first to have an animal as wild as an otter."

A post on the Salisbury Cathedral Facebook page said: "Last night, we had an unexpected visitor to the Cathedral cloisters.

"This little otter seemed to be a bit lost, but was safely escorted back out of the building after frolicking in the cloister garth!"

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