Designer killed neighbours' cat

A graphic designer who killed his neighbours' cat in a fit of temper and dumped it in a West Sussex river has been given a community sentence.

Worthing Magistrates' Court heard Dougal Thorn snapped after two-year-old black tom cat Chopper crept into his Shoreham home and knocked over a vase.

Thorn, 42, now of Haywards Heath, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal on 30 April.

He received a two-year community order and a one-year ban on owning animals.

'Bullying' animal

Thorn claimed Chopper was a neighbourhood menace and that he acted in an "out of body experience" when he hurled Chopper against railings, the court heard during the case brought by the RSPCA on Wednesday.

He then dumped its body in a river near his home in an attempt to cover his tracks and pretended to help its owners find it.

Later, Thorn confessed to Chopper's owners, Tom Walker and his partner Sarah Booker, to killing their pet a week after it went missing.

After musician Mr Walker, 34, reported Thorn to Sussex Police, he was evicted by his landlady and has not been seen in the neighbourhood since.

Following the killing, Mr Walker denied Thorn's suggestions that Chopper was a bullying cat and said that residents in the area were left disgusted by his actions.

Thorn was ordered to complete 250 hours unpaid work and pay more than £360 in court costs and compensation.