A teenager who killed a cat in a microwave after he heard it 'talking to him' has been sentenced to 22 weeks in a young offenders' institution.

Jamie Blake, of St Edmunds Court, Thetford, who previously admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal by microwaving it until it died, stood silently as the verdict was read out.

The court was told the 19-year-old had been using crack cocaine and had been under a 'psychosis caused by drugs' when he carried out offence.

Susan Taylor, lead magistrate at West Suffolk Magistrates' Court in Bury St Edmunds, said the crime had been aggravated by the 'suffering that the poor animal endured.'

The court was told before how Blake had befriended the cat, which he called Buddy, while he was staying at John Room House sheltered housing accommodation.

Magistrates heard that Blake had taken the animal into his room for company but had begun arguing with it after it began saying that his mother's ex-partner - who is actually dead - was injecting his mother with heroin.

The defendant, who has mental health issues, then placed the cat in the microwave, killing it.

The court was told that CCTV footage was viewed after fur was spotted near Blake's room.

It showed him picking the cat up by the scruff of its neck and taking it to his room, then leaving his room with a carrier bag which appeared to have the cat in it.