Jammy Hammy; 'Dead' hamster digs out of 2ft grave, crosses road and raps on door for tea

By Adrian Addison

A FAMILY is calling its amazing pet hamster Houdini after it dug its way out of its own GRAVE.

Tearful owner Tasia Hadfield, nine, thought her beloved pet had died - and buried her at her gran's.

But the hamster was only hibernating in the cold snap - and woke hours later to find itself entombed 2ft underground.

The pet bravely burrowed to the surface. Then it raced 50 yards across two gardens, under two fences and across a busy main road to be home in time for tea. Stunned Tasia found her scratching to be let in at the back door.

Tasia's mum Jane, 31, said yesterday: "It was a great escape.

"The hamster's name was Claudia, but we're going to call her Houdini from now on. To look at her you would think nothing had happened."

The drama started when mum and daughter found Claudia lying still in her cage. They laid her to rest in the garden of Tasia's grandmother, Anne Carey, in Droylsden, Manchester.

Tearful Tasia even pushed a wooden spoon in the soil as a "gravestone". But the three-year-old rodent had other ideas.

Tasia said: "I was shocked to see her. It was spooky as I was sure she was dead."

Hamsters hibernate when temperatures go below 5°C and have a powerful homing instinct.

A spokeswoman for the Hamster Society said: "They can appear dead when they hibernate. This was quite a feat."

January 21, 2000 | Sun, The (London, England). Author/Byline: Adrian Addison