Man who brutally killed cat jailed

A cat killer has been jailed for 16 weeks after he picked up the animal by its hind legs and swung it head-first into a wall four times.

Jason Metcalfe, 29, flew into a drunken rage when female tabby Bonnie approached him in the street in Earby, Lancashire.

His attack was witnessed by a nine-year-old girl who was playing nearby.

Burnley Crown Court was told recovering alcoholic Metcalfe, of Kenilworth Drive, could not remember anything of the incident on September 28 last year when he was interviewed by the RSPCA the following day.

The cat died from severe head injuries.

Police had called to his then address in Goodall Close shortly after the incident and found the defendant drunk, slurring his words and staggering. He had blood stains on his clothing.

It emerged that Metcalfe had committed the grisly attack just weeks after he received a suspended jail term for beating up a friend.

He was sentenced to a further 30 weeks in jail for activating the suspension.

Mark Stuart, defending Metcalfe, said his client could not explain his actions and was usually an animal lover.

Metcalfe pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to animal cruelty.

He was also banned from keeping animals for life.