A WOMAN who used a potato masher to bury her drowned kitten in the middle of a busy roundabout has been jailed.

At a trial last month, Hartlepool Magistrates Court were told Bethan Louise Lawson, 22, conspired with her two fellow defendants – who cannot be named for legal reasons - to drown her 10 week old kitten, Puss Puss, fearing she could not meet the costs of putting the ill animal down.

Lawson, of Leven Street, Middlesbrough, was not present when the cat was killed but later took the dead animal to Newport Roundabout where she, and one other defendant, dug a grave using potato mashers.

She left a note at the scene which said: “Hey Puss Puss, we love you, and are sorry that we hurt you, but we didn’t want you to suffer.”

The RSPCA received an anonymous letter alerting them to the incident. Lawson later took Inspector Clare Wilson to the grave site where the body of the ginger tabby kitten was recovered from under a pink blanket.

Lawson was found guilty of charges of jointly causing unnecessary suffering, failing to prevent the animal from suffering and not taking reasonable steps to protect the cat from pain, injury, suffering and disease.

Esther Blakey, chairman of the bench, sentenced Lawson to twelve weeks in prison. She also reactivated a suspended sentence and banned her from keeping animals for ten years.

RSPCA Inspector Wilson said: “The fact she got a custodial sentence and the length of the ban reflects the seriousness of what happened to Puss Puss. I hope it will prevent something like this happening in the future.

"I also hope people will think of the consequences of taking things into their own hands if their animal is ill and will take them to a vet.”