A MAN who killed his estranged wife's kitten in a tumble dryer has been told he will have to serve the maximum jail sentence possible - six months.

Philip Gannon, 42, Walkden, Salford, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to the animal at Bolton Magistrates Court earlier this month and jailed for six months.

His appeal over this sentence was rejected yesterday. Experts were certain that the pet had been alive at the time it was put into the tumble dryer at the home of his ex-partner Jacqueline Hodson in Kearsley, Bolton.

It was believed the animal could have suffered for up to 15 minutes as it cooked in temperatures rising to 120 degrees.

The cat's claws had been worn down indicating that it had tried to scratch its way out of the dryer.

Gannon claimed that he had broken the animal's neck before putting it in the dryer. He had previously threatened Ms Hodson.

At the appeal in Bolton Crown Court Judge John Appleby said it was one of the worst cases of its kind and found no reason to alter the prison term.

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