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Postman jailed for smashing cat's head with mail trolley lid and throwing her into garden to die after she jumped in during his round

By Larisa Brown for the Daily Mail
Updated: 20:13 EDT, 8 March 2012 Callous: Postman Alan Vincent repeatedly smashed a cat in the head with the lid of his trolley, killing her

A postman was jailed  yesterday for killing a cat because it jumped inside his mail trolley.

Alan Vincent repeatedly bashed the lid down on the ‘screeching’ cat before throwing it over an 8ft garden hedge and leaving it to die ‘a horrible death’, a court was told.

Neighbours who saw the attack confronted the postman but he hurled abuse at them and carried on with his round.

The 14-year-old tortoiseshell tabby, Tiddy, was found in a nearby  garden by her owner, nursery worker Ami Hartridge.

Miss Hartridge, 34, rushed Tiddy to the vet but the cat died hours later from ‘horrific internal injuries’, the court heard.

Tiddy was one of eight cats owned by Miss Hartridge, and the favourite of her daughter Tallulah.

The attack happened only days before the little girl’s second birthday.

Witness Laura Lucardini, 72, told the court: ‘I saw the postman bashing the lid down and realised he was smashing it on to the cat who was meowing loudly, screeching.’

She said Vincent then took the cat from his mail trolley and casually threw it over the hedge.

Another witness, June Dye-Hodge Beardsley, ran out and confronted the postman before dialling 999.

In an emergency services recording played to the court,  Vincent was clearly heard swearing at both women.

Robert Borwick, prosecuting, said Miss Hartridge had been searching for her pet when Vincent’s delivery manager, who had received a report about the incident, arrived in a van and helped her find Tiddy.




Vincent, a postman of nine years,  was sacked after the attack in Windsor in March last year. The  case also resulted in the end of his relationship with his partner. 'Horrific internal injuries': Tiddy, 14, was found by her owner in a nearby garden and rushed to the vets, but she later died

He told the court he had found the cat in his trolley but did not smash the lid down on it.

He said: ‘I tried to lift it out, but it clung on to the inside.’ He said he finally shooed it off unhurt.

Reading magistrates’ chairman Ian Bacon told him: ‘We don’t believe your version of events.

'Tiddy died in a great deal of suffering and pain – a horrible death. You have offered no remorse whatsoever, none.’ Devastated: Tiddy's owner Ami Hartridge holds her other cat, Minnie. Her partner Stephen Hughes holds daughter Tallulah, two

Vincent, from Feltham, West London, was jailed for six months after being found guilty of causing unnecessary animal suffering.

Speaking after the case, Miss Hartridge’s partner, Stephen Hughes, 50, said: ‘Justice has been done, but it won’t bring Tiddy back.’

He added: ‘Tallulah loved Tiddy and used to sit on the sofa with her, she was absolutely devastated when she found out she had died.

‘What this man did to our cat was cruel and disgusting. I hope he has time to think about what he did as he sits in his prison cell.’

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