A LITTER of kittens have been reunited with their mother after they were found abandoned in a bucket.

PCs Roxy Garrett and Lewis Calboutin were on patrol in the Benwell area of Newcastle when they were called to a dispute. They were speaking to the occupants of a house who said their cat had given birth to kittens but they did not know where they were. Officers searched the garden and found a paint bucket, and when they looked inside they found six two-week-old kittens wrapped in a urine-soaked cardigan. The kittens were also covered in paint and were so young they had barely opened their eyes. They were taken to Westgate Ark centre.

Police returned to the address to check on the mother. The occupants said they no longer wanted her, so she was reunited her with her kittens.