CAT rescue veteran Marjorie Nash spoke of her horror tonight after hearing that a cat had been kicked to death in Hazlemere.

The animal was attacked during a burglary last Monday.

Miss Nash said: "It makes you feel there's no hope for human beings when you hear something like this. It's just awful - I always said all our problems are humans. It's not the animals that cause the trouble, its the people."

Miss Nash runs Marjorie Nash Cat Rescue, which is based in Widmer End, High Wycombe, and cares for abandoned and neglected cats.

She said:"I hope they catch whoever's done this - I haven't heard anything at all about it. I have been doing this for 25 years and I can't remember anything like this, not even when I was with the RSPCA. Certainly nothing as horrible as this - I think the RSPCA should prosecute."

The animal was kicked in the head and body when burglars broke into a house in Sawpit Hill. The devastated owner found his cat in the garden and took it to a vet, but the animal later died.