Image copyright Mark Taylor Image caption Brigit poses with her haul

A nocturnal "cat burglar" has been stealing dozens of socks and men's underwear in New Zealand.

In two months, six-year-old Tonkinese cat Brigit from Hamilton city brought back 11 pairs of underpants and more than 50 socks.

Her owner, Sarah Nathan, has documented her feline's strange obsession on a widely shared Facebook post.

"Now it's getting silly. Someone must be missing this stuff," she said in a post shared close to 500 times.

Ms Nathan told the BBC that the trouble first began when she started discovering "odd pieces" of underwear among her washing.

Image copyright Facebook: Sarah Nathan Image caption Brigit's hunt has claimed 11 pairs of men's underpants and more than 50 socks

"They didn't belong to anyone in the house and one day Brigit walked into our lounge carrying a sock like a kitten," she said, adding that Brigit's unlucky victims were probably a nearby flat "full of blokes".

The family said it had also started distributing street flyers.

"Keeping cats indoors isn't common in New Zealand," said Ms Nathan.

"Brigit doesn't hunt birds or wildlife so it seems unnecessary and our neighbours have been very good natured about it.

"But we are moving to the country soon so hopefully she will run out of opportunity!"