A TENANT who was jailed for cooking a hamster in a microwave could be evicted from his home if he steps out of line again.

Anthony Parker, of Holyrood Walk, Hartlepool, was accused of breaching his tenancy agreement with Housing Hartlepool in a hearing held at the town’s county court.

Under Housing Hartlepool tenancy agreements, properties must not be used for illegal, criminal, immoral or improper purposes and tenants must not be convicted of an arrestable offence.

Parker now runs the risk of eviction if he breaches his tenancy agreement again in the next 12 months.

He has also lost the right to buy or exchange his property and was ordered to pay £150 court costs.

Parker admitted putting Suzie the Syrian hamster in the microwave after a row with his girlfriend, in an attempt to stop her “whining at him”. The 28-year-old confessed to police who were called to his home in the early hours of February 23 last year, Teesside Magistrates’ Court heard.

He told officers, who found the pet in a green wheelie bin in the garden: “I didn’t mean to kill her.

She was the best hamster I ever had.”

Parker was found guilty of animal cruelty jailed for nine weeks. He was also banned from keeping pets for five years.

Libby Griffiths, Housing Hartlepool’s tenancy relations and enforcement team manager, said: “Taking legal action hammers home the message that illegal or anti-social conduct – in this case shocking cruelty to an animal – will not be tolerated in any of our properties.

“Housing Hartlepool, in partnership with other agencies including Hartlepool Borough Council and Cleveland Police, is committed to combating crime and anti-social behaviour.

“A demotion order is not a soft option, but has real teeth because it means if this tenant breaches their agreement again within the next 12 months they will be evicted.”

Housing associations have the power to take out anti-social behaviour orders and injunctions, possession orders to evict tenants or can warn a tenant they run the risk of eviction is they re-offend within a certain timescale.