Councillor James Garner was spoken to by the police back in October 2023, following a complaint from a member of the public involving their cat.
Allegations suggest that the councillor rigged a birdhouse with explosives, before luring Suki inside the structure.
Footage of the incident
Footage shared by LBC captured the moment the birdhouse exploded. Thankfully Suki did not sustain life-threatening injuries, but both she and her owner were shaken by the incident.
"Suki came home one day missing the whiskers on her face- they looked like they'd been dissolved", her owner told LCB. "I put a post in my local community group on Facebook... just to warn people in case there was something she'd rolled in that had dissolved them".
"But somebody contacted me to tell me it wasn't what I thought it was, that somebody had actually blown up my cat - and that it was my neighbour and local councillor. It made me feel physically sick".
The allegation
Councillor Garnor attended an interview with the police voluntarily, who concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.
Now, Garnor has announced his resignation, with immediate effect.
Sadly for Suki, her ordeal seems to have affected her more than her injuries may have shown.
"She used to be a lovely cat", explained her owner Nikki. "She would come and sit for hours cuddling and playing and bobbing her head all over you".
"Now she rarely comes near you, and if she does, she's got her claws out - she hisses, she growls".
At the time of the incident Councillor Garnor received an antisocial behaviour disorder for his actions, but he has since declined the opportunity to comment on the events that unfolded.
