IF you hit a wild animal on the road and it survived but was injured, would you know what to do with it? Would you even stop to see if it was okay?

A fortnight ago I was teaching in Tylers Green when the car in front hit two wood pigeons and then sped off, leaving a swirl of feathers in its wake.

I can't believe the driver didn't notice what he had done, so I guess he just didn't care. I instructed my pupil to pull over so we could check if the birds needed attention.

One recovered quickly and flew off but the other was sitting in the gutter in a small puddle of blood that had dripped down its neck and chest from a head wound. Its eyes were rolling back as it blinked in a laboured fashion. I thought it probably had a fractured skull and was not going to survive.

"Maybe we should put it out of its misery," I suggested to my pupil.

"What do you mean?" gulped Mrs Learner.

"He's had it. Look at the state of him," I said. "If we take him somewhere to have him put down that will take time and he'll suffer for longer. It might be kinder if I just killed him now."

"You can't do that!" said Mrs Learner, looking horrified, and she stepped between the bird and me. "I know he looks terrible, but what if he's not as bad as he looks?"

After further deliberation, Mrs Learner scooped up the pigeon and placed him on his feet and, to my amazement, he stood up and held his own weight.

"Wow," I said. "Maybe he does have a chance after all. Okay, it's your lesson. Would you like me to drive him to a wildlife rescue centre?"

"Yes, plea-a-a-se." said Mrs Learner, grinning from ear to ear.

So I wrapped Mr Pigeon in a blanket, placed him inside my emptied toolbox, and off we drove to St Tiggywinkles, an animal hospital in Haddenham, near Thame.

I told Mrs Learner to keep checking the bird on the way, as he appeared to be in shock and I fully expected him to die at any moment. I didn't want to drive all that way only to turn up with a dead pigeon.

Every so often she would report: "He's movinghe's asleephe's awake he's blinking" and so on.

By the time we got there Mr Pigeon was struggling to get out of the box.

He looked in a dreadful state as he was rushed to a treatment room because he was caked in congealed blood, but he had definitely perked up.

Back in Wycombe, after finishing Mrs Learner's lesson, I noticed a police car was following me, which made me chuckle because I had a blood-stained blanket on my back seat. I imagined the officers might think I had finally lost my temper and murdered a pupil!

Then I was stung with a sudden pang of guilt when I remembered that I did almost murder a pigeon that day. In future, I won't be so quick to judge an injured animal's chances.

St Tiggywinkles would like motorists to bring them any small, injured creature they come across even if they don't think it will live. Often animal casualties look worse than they are if they have gone into shock or are playing dead as a defence tactic, but they are surprisingly resilient. The animal should be placed in a dark box and kept warm en route.

If the animal is too big to transport, call St Tiggywinkles on 01844 292292 and they will send help. They are open 24 hours a day and their services are free.

British law does allow you to take into your own care any wild animal that is injured in a road accident as long as you release it once it has recovered, but it is much more advisable to get professionals help.

Mr Pigeon is now recovering fast. His x-rays showed he had no broken bones but he is on antibiotics for a head wound and an infected cut on his leg. He should be released back into the wild in a few weeks.

Let's hope he finds his way back home to Mrs Pigeon.

Audrey Wixon is director of Wycombe Driving School www.wycombedrivingschool.co.uk