IT is often said that you never own a cat, it owns you.

But five-year-old Sparky is a purrfect pet with a difference, in that she owns many of the residents - both business and private - on either side of The Bank in Barnard Castle.

Sparky originally "belonged" to a family at the bottom of the street, but soon made it her business to go walkabout in that part of the town. She spends her days asleep in a large, empty chocolate box at Castle News where she has become part of the furniture for owners Vic and June Jackson.

"She sits on the newspapers and waits for us to open and is always to kick out when we close at eight," said the couple's daughter-in-law Sharon Jackson. "She has been touring all the businesses and homes down here for around two years now and everybody knows and feeds her."

When Castle News closes for the night, Sparky uses next door's cat flap and spends her evenings there. She visits the various antique shops for titbits and looks forward to scraps delivered by Sharon Hall who, with her husband Alan, runs the Cod Father fish shop opposite Castle News.

Sparky is also a regular at Blagraves Restaurant, run by Ken and Elizabeth Marley.

"She sits on the windowsill and sneaks in for a warm by the open fire when customers open the door," said Mr Marley. "She makes herself at home in the downstairs lounge to such an extent that diners think she is our cat."

Castle News is soon to go on the market, but there are no fears for Sparky's future. "My in-laws are insisting that whoever takes on the business takes on Sparky as well," said Mrs Jackson.