Man drowned neighbour’s cat for digging up veg patch

AMAN who drowned his neighbour’s cat after it dug up his vegetable patch has been spared jail.

Richard Giles, 69, who lives between Yeovil and Sherborne in the small parish Adber, drowned tabby cat Ruby, pictured top right, in a water butt on his property last September. Giles claimed the cat was “ruining” his vegetable crops.

Ruby’s owner, 65-year-old widow and retired NHS worker Shirley GearEvans, spent two days looking for her cat before she confronted Giles, who openly admitted to killing her.

Ms Gear-Evans took in rescue cat Ruby when she moved to the Dorset hamlet in 2019. RSPCA inspectors began an investigation after the animal welfare charity was contacted with concerns over what Giles had done.

Giles appeared at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on Tuesday, having pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal at an earlier hearing.

Giles was given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay £1,000 to Ms GearEvans and £720 for court costs.

Giles told RSPCA investigators that he was driven to kill Ruby after she repeatedly came onto his Adber property to hunt birds.

RSPCA prosecutor Matthew Knight said: “In interview [Giles] fully admitted he had drowned the cat in his water butt and dumped the body in a ditch.

“He said he killed her because he was concerned with germs and the effect of the cat on local birds.

“He criticised the owner for getting her from a rescue centre and criticised her for not training the cat.”

Veterinary reports concluded Ruby ble,” said PC Claire Allan, of Avon and Somerset Police.

“House-to-house enquiries have been carried out and we’ll also be reviewing CCTV from the local area as part of our inquiry,” she added.

every ticket would have experienced extreme and unnecessary suffering as a result of drowning.

In a victim impact statement, Ms Gear-Evans stressed she doesn’t feel she can adopt another cat while living next to Giles and that she is looking at making security arrangements on her property.

The court was told that Giles was of previous good character and regretted his actions, citing his community prominence as the former owner of Adber Weld Ltd, a crane hire company.

He said he killed her because he was concerned with germs and the effect of the cat on local birds RSPCA PROSECUTOR MATTHEW KNIGHT