A HAMSTER chucked into a giant recycling bin was saved seconds away from being crushed.

The chubby-cheeked little charmer survived a freezing December night in a west London recycling bank and had nibbled his way to freedom just in time.

Council workers spotted him gnawing himself out of a recycling bag full of sawdust just before they emptied the container in DuCane Road, Hammersmith.

The furry rodent, a Roborovski Dwarf with a love for warmer weather, has now found a new home with 12-year-old Isabel Anderson.

"I can't believe he's still alive after what happened, but he's doing fine now. He's really furry and I think that's what saved him," she said, promptly naming him Chilly.

How the hamster ended up among the waste is still a mystery.

"We just don't know how this animal got into the recycling, although I am sure it wasn't a deliberate attempt to 'recycle' it," said Hammersmith and Fulham councilor Nicholas Botterill.

"We do get more contamination of recycling around Christmas but officers don't normally find hamsters smiling back at them when they check the recycling banks."

"We are just very pleased that it has found a new owner."

Like most London boroughs, Hammersmith recycles about 21% of its waste - a rate that needs to double by 2020 for the capital to avoid paying crippling European Union fines.

Mr Botterill added: "We try to make sure the facts about what can and can't be recycled are communicated effectively to everyone but occasionally people do make mistakes."