Police called in over neighbours' catfight

A bizarre feud between neighbours about who should own a pet cat has led to the police being called in

The row began last month after Tootsie disappeared from the home of Debra Wallace in Barnstaple, North Devon, who had owned it for seven years. She claimed that her neighbour Dustin Flashman might be behind the disappearance and called in the police.

Mr Flashman, who admits having the cat, insists that he thought it was a stray and is refusing to return the animal because he believes it was being neglected. The families were due to meet with officers last week in an effort to resolve the row, but Mr Flashman claimed the cat had gone missing again just hours before the meeting.

Mrs Wallace said: "This is not the crime of the century but you want the help of the police to go in and say, 'It's not your cat - you must give it back.'?"

North Devon police said it was now investigating the "legal aspects of ownership" of the animal. A spokesman said: "We have put the circumstances of this allegation to our force's legal department."

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