No cats please, we're from Surrey

Britain could get its first ever 'cat exclusion zone' in a bid to protect endangered birds.

Under the plans to safeguard vulnerable nests, families buying homes in a 300 square mile swathe of the Home Counties would be forced to sign an agreement never to own a cat.



Imposing such a ban is the only way developers would be allowed to build 50,000 much needed homes near the birds' nesting grounds in the heaths of Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire.

The move - designed to protect the Dartford warbler, the nightjar and the woodlark - brought building plans to a halt, despite Government pledges for new housing in the area.

The RSPB, with more than a million members, has given cautious backing to the idea but fears cats may still reach the nests on or near the ground. Cats kill about 55 million birds in the UK every year.