GARAGE repairmen were gobsmacked when a woman brought her car in to have tiger teeth marks removed.

The big cat bit off more than it could chew when it sank its teeth into a couple's car bumper as they drove through Longleat Safari Park.

The big cat took exception to Jill and Steve Argent's red Rover when it entered the tiger enclosure.

Mrs Argent told the repairmen: "We went through the monkey enclosure first and they were pulling things off the car.

"The monkeys pulled off a rubber strip from the roof of the car, but you expect that with the monkeys.

"Then we went into the tiger enclosure and there were three tigers prowling around really close.

"One of the tigers lunged at our car and I thought it was going to come through the window it was hanging on for dear life."

Safari wardens inside the closure spotted the incident and started up their jeep, at which point the tiger let go of the bumper and walked away.

The Argents then drove through the lion enclosure, before reaching a car park where they inspected the damage to their vehicle.

"We were amazed," said Mrs Argent who lives and works in Bournemouth.

"I think the tiger might have seen its own reflection in the headlight and thought it was another tiger.

Keith Harris, Longleat Safari Park manager, said: "It has happened in the past but it is rare.

"The tigers see cars all the time as we have 90,000 passing through each year.

"Perhaps the tiger thought it was a game."

Last August, the car bumper of the Marlborough-based Lockey family's Skoda Octavia also fell foul to the strong jaws of a Longleat tiger.