CAT BURGLARS

Villages loses 20 in just 4 months

RESIDENTS of a village that has lost 20 cats in just four months fear someone is preying on their pets.

One of the latest to go missing is George, who vanished a week ago – and owners Steve and Vanessa Haywood fear he has been snatched by a mystery cat thief.

Steve, 55, of Thornhill, Cumbria, said: “There’s a worrying trend in Thornhill of cats going missing.

“Another cat has gone missing since George, and two weeks ago one of our neighbours had one vanish as well. It might well be that they are being stolen and sold on.

“The value of pets has risen and now cats that are walking around are assets that can easily be stolen.” Steve and Vanessa, 51, set up a Twitter profile for tabby George when he was a kitten and he now has 9,000 followers as far afield as the US and Australia.

His owners hope his social media profile will help his return and have urged other villagers to report any missing pets.

Cumbria Police said that, other than George, they were not aware of any “wider reports” of cat disappearances in the area.