A cat was injured after a Dereham woman twice hurled it back into the owner's property.

April Joy Rose Hawes, 36, was annoyed that the tom cat named Shadow was "scenting" her home, disturbing her own cats.

King's Lynn Magistrates' Court was shown CCTV footage of Hawes, of Banyard Court, throwing the cat about nine metres into the front of a neighbour's property, with the animal hitting a bin.

Prosecuting Ashley Petchey said: "Forty seconds later she is seen throwing it a second time."

On the footage, Hawes can be heard screaming that she hoped the complainant could see it on CCTV and asked if she would be cleaning Hawes' house.

Hawes was arrested and shown the images during interview. She told police she did not realise her own strength and was surprised how far the cat had gone.

Mr Petchey added: "She said [the complainant's] two cats had been scenting everywhere and disturbing her own cats."

Hawes claimed there was no intention to cause Shadow harm. However Mr Petchey said: "Clearly, from the footage, it was a deliberate attempt to cause suffering. Shadow is now walking with a limp."

He suggested that the starting point for punishment was 18 weeks' custody and asked magistrates to also consider disqualifying her from owning animals.

Hawes pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal on March 1.

Mitigating, Jeff Lewis said it was a tom cat which "peed everywhere". He added that his client was suffering a lot of "significant" emotional issues, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The case was adjourned to June 28 to enable a pre-sentencing report with all options available to be prepared.