On 12th July at a little after 2 pm I was sitting alone in the car while my wife popped into a shop near Barnstaple to buy some drinks. I heard a hefty kicking sound coming from the rear of the car. I looked round and could see nothing. There was no one nearby. There was not even any other car nearby. The hefty kicking sound came again. It was definitely coming from the boot of the car.
The car (a large, heavy vehicle) rocked slightly with the kicking. I got out of the car, walked round to the back of the car and opened the boot. I was convinced that at some point an animal must have climbed into the boot. I was so convinced about this that I opened the boot carefully and kept my distance. There was nothing alive in the boot and nothing in there that could have caused any noise. I got back into the car. When my wife returned from the shop I had still not shut the car door. As we drove away I explained to her what had happened. She reminded me that I had that morning picked up the ashes belonging to Karen - a sheep who had recently died. I had completely forgotten this. She also quickly reminded me that while alive Karen always used to kick my leg quite sharply when she felt she wasn't getting enough attention.
After collecting the ashes I had put them into the car without paying them any attention.