Animal rights campaigners have offered a £2,000 reward for help to catch a sick serial killer suspected of preying on and butchering Croydon's cats.

PETA is offering the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person thought to thought to have killed and dismembered up to seven felines over the past three months.

All the cats - found in Addiscombe, South Norwood, Coulsdon and West Norwood since September - were missing their tails and some had been decapitated.

The gruesome discoveries, first reported by the Croydon Guardian, have gained nationwide attention and led an animal shelter to warn owners to keep their cats indoors.

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Elisa Allen, associate director at PETA, said: "The pain and fear that any of these cats experienced is unimaginable, so it’s imperative that any community faced with such sadistic and violent acts take measures to find the culprit and bring him or her to justice.

"Animal abusers are a danger to everyone – they take their issues out on whoever is available to them, human or non-human, and must be caught before they act again."

The charity warned animal cruelty sometimes foreshadowed violence towards humans, citing notorious killers such as Ian Huntley, Fred West and Dennis Nilsen.

South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL) has received anecdotal reports that more than 30 cats have been killed in Croydon total over the last two years.

The most recent, nine-year-old Missy, was found dismembered in a hedge near her distraught family's home in Coulsdon on Monday, December 7.

Her owner, David Emmerson, 43, said: "Whoever is behind this needs to be brought to justice before they can do this to another family’s pet - or even to a person."

The Metropolitan Police and Surrey Police forces are investigating the killings.

If you have information that may help catch the Croydon cat killer, call police on 101 or contact SNARL through its Facebook page.

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