The horrifying moment a drunk soldier savagely kicked a cat to death in the street



Anthony Delaney drank 1 0 pints of lager before th e sickening attack

Tried to claim he was putting the animal out of its misery as it was injured

Was filmed kicking the defenceless cat twice in Ashton-under-Lyne



The 30-year-old was handed an 18-week prison sentence



Former Army soldier was also banned from keeping animals for five years



A former soldier has been jailed after sickening CCTV footage captured him kicking a cat to death in a the middle of the street.



Anthony Delaney had drunk at least 10 pints of lager at the time of the incident in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, but tried to claim he was putting the animal out of its misery after it had been hit by a car.



The 30-year-old was filmed booting the defenceless cat twice during a night out in September last year.



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Sickening: Anthony Delaney found the injured cat lying on a street in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester Swing: The soldier lines up to kick the cat which had been hit by a car Savage: The defenceless animal went flying across the floor after Delaney booted it

The horrifying pictures show him setting on the animal as if he was kicking a football.

He sent the animal flying through the air and then attacked it again as it lay against a wall.



His solicitor was forced to admit that the 30-year-old handled the situation 'appallingly badly'.

The cat died just minutes after RSPCA inspectors arrived at the scene at around 5am on Sunday, September 22, last year.

The court was told driver Charlotte Lewis-Dobson first spotted the injured animal and phoned the RSPCA before moving her car in front of the cat to protect it from other vehicles.



Shockiing: Witnesses watch in horror as the cat was left for dead on the pavement after the horrifying incident

Jailed: Delaney was given an 18-month prison sentence and was banned from keeping animals for five years



She and passenger Nicole Calvert were later confronted by Delaney and his group of friends, who told them ‘you better drive away now’ after pleading with them to leave the animal alone.



A statement from Ms Lewis-Dobson said: 'I can’t believe somebody could do that particularly when the cat was injured and distressed.



'It was crying out and wanted to be left alone. Its last few minutes were full of fear and pain.'



Delaney was handed an 18-week jail term and banned from keeping animals for five years.



Chair of the bench Catherine Elliott said: 'This was a deliberate act of malicious cruelty to an already injured and defenceless animal.



Defenceless: The RSPCA released pictures of the animal after the beating. It had also been kicked against a wall during the attack

'We would be failing in our public duty if we did not pass a custodial sentence.'



Delaney was arrested hours later and told police he and friends wanted to put the cat 'out of its misery' and that he carried out the act as he had undergone survival training in the armed forces.

He pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary cruelty to an animal at an earlier hearing, ahead of sentencing at Tameside Magistrates' Court.

Delaney was handed an 18-week jail term and banned from keeping animals for five years.

Chair of the bench Catherine Elliott said: 'This was a deliberate act of malicious cruelty to an already injured and defenceless animal.

'We would be failing in our public duty if we did not pass a custodial sentence.'

RSPCA inspector Vicki McDonald said: 'There was an audible intake of breath when the footage of this incident was shown in court.



'This cat had already been hit by a car and two young women had called us, and were waiting with the cat until we arrived.



'When a group of people, including Delaney, showed up and started messing around with the cat they asked him several times to leave him alone but were intimidated into leaving. Delaney then kicked him not once, but twice, like a football across the street.

