Burglars beheaded blind cat

Two burglars who cooked a live shrew in a microwave and beheaded a cat were warned they face jail today.

Andrew Maloney and Steven Brow killed the animals after breaking into a house in Wigan, Greater Manchester, in August.

They placed the shrew, a tiny rodent kept as a pet, in the microwave along with some vegetables and used a blunt axe to behead the cat.

They also smashed up the house and left the head of the cat, a blind 19-year-old female called Great, on the coffee table for owner David Byrne, 48, to find when he returned home.

Maloney, 25, and Brow, 35, both from Wigan, pleaded guilty at Bolton Crown Court to burglary with intent to cause unlawful damage.

Prosecutor Mark Smith told the court: "The burglary charge actually encompasses the considerable damage to the building, the beheading of a cat and the placing of shrew in the microwave, causing the death of the animal."

Judge Gillian Roux adjourned sentencing until January 9.

She remanded the pair in custody and told them: "You should understand that because of the seriousness of the offence, custody is a likely sentence."

A 16-year-old girl pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods, namely Mr Byre's mobile phone. She will also be sentenced on January 9.