POLICE are hunting for the thug who decapitated a cat in Cinderford on Monday.

The tabby was found on the communal lawn of sheltered accommodation in Rowandean by a worker at the home after 9am.

It is believed its head was cut off with a sharp knife before its body was taken to the garden and dumped on the lawn some time overnight. Its head has not been discovered.

Police recovered the body, and after an inspection by a local vet it has been returned to its owner, a local resident, to be buried.

PCSO Pete Timmins, a rural and environmental crime liaison officer for the police, said: “This wasn’t a wound inflicted by another animal or anything like that – this was a deliberate act of cold blooded animal cruelty.

“I’m in contact with the RSPCA and will be making further inquiries to find out who did this.

“Someone in the local community must know something. If you do, you must come forward.”

Anyone with information should call 101 and quote incident 66 of March 7.

•This is the second sickening attack on a cat in the town in three weeks. On February 19 we reported that a cat had been shot in the Hilldene area of Cinderford.