I AM afraid that I have to correct several inaccuracies in your report regarding Mr. John Powell and his 20 cats. John is not a pensioner and has never held down a regular job choosing to exist on state hand outs.

His situation was brought to my attention by fellow councillor Norman Stephens who was worried, along with several others, that he was suicidal and in desperate need of help. I, along with my wife and daughter, visited him at his home and were distressed to see how desperate he had become. We were also aware that the conditions in which he was keeping the cats were a living nightmare.

Without entering the house the smell of cat's urine emanating from the house caused our eyes to run.

My immediate sympathy went out to his neighbours and I was staggered to hear that they had put up with this for so long. On his own admission he confirmed that the windows had never been opened for at least 10 years. Had he done so the cats would have escaped.

When I later ventured inside the house with an official from Two Rivers I could hardly breathe and when we opened the windows you could see the fumes leaving the rooms. Breathing was difficult. His cooker and heaters were rendered useless due to the corrosion brought about by the ammonia. Most of the wallpaper had been scratched off the walls and I considered the house to be uninhabitable.

We took John to our farm and offered to let him keep his cats there, as the court ruling stated that he could no longer have any cats in his house but could keep a maximum of two in a cattery in his garden as long as they were not allowed in the house. He was most enthusiastic, saying it was a dream come true. He had always wanted to work with animals and had tried in the past to get a job as a zoo keeper in Scotland.

We had two priorities, first was to keep John in his house and two to safeguard the cats. Several are rather old and most of the rest are very wild as they have been kept away from human contact. Even he has difficulty handling them safely.

So we set about building a cattery to house up to 20 cats with large outside runs, hoping that some of them would eventually be able to be released at the farm and live a normal cat life. Even this was against his wishes as he was worried that foxes could harm them!

We had a deadline which was impossible and with the help of others including Cllr Diana Edwards, and Helen Mac­Millan at Mark Harper's office we persuaded Two Rivers to give us an extension. Indeed Diana even took John to a local supermarket to buy him a supply of groceries as we were told he had not eaten for over a week. Friends of his also gave us encouragement and so we set to work.

John and I built the cattery and although the runs were not finished 16 cats moved in with less than 12 hours to spare. The cost of materials, getting on for £1,000, was funded by Severnwye Animal Collection.

There were still four cats at home and he steadfastly refused to take them to the farm, constantly talking about his human rights and how badly he had been done by. He did not seem to understand that everyone was trying to help him.

We had agreed to pay for the cat's food as we were in a position to buy in bulk. In return he had to look after and clean them. In addition he was to help with general work around the farm. He got his benefits every Sunday, but by Wednesday he was always broke and I had to supply him with fuel for his large Mercedes car. I arranged for him to get a free bus pass which meant that he would be able to travel to the farm every day for nothing. However he said that he had no intention of using a bus. I and others suggested a smaller more economic car and I offered to help him get one. This was turned down as he always drives a large car.

The final straw was when he turned up with one of the house cats and said that his vet had recommended that all the cats should be with him at home in the house. By now it was obvious that he had no intention of keeping his cats at the farm, he now had money as someone had offered him part time work picking apples and had paid him up front.

He told us that he had found a secret location nearer home to house the cats.

During the time he was with us he told me of numerous trips he had made driving lorries all over the UK, sometimes being away for up to three days at a time. I asked who looked after the cats and he replied that he left them plenty of food and water. I am afraid that he does not put his cats first and uses them in his never ending battle against authority.

My wife and I are very disappointed that our efforts were to no avail and hope that a solution will be found for both John and the cats. ­– Alastair Fraser.