A PET-owner in Gargrave has warned villagers to be keep a watchful eye on their animals after one of his family's four cats was shot with an air rifle.

Michael Gill pulled the rifle pellet from the skin of pet Oscar after it had been missing for more than two weeks from the family home in Eshton Road.

He said: "Oscar's a tom and tends to go away for days anyway, so we didn't think much of it when he disappeared.

"Then my daughter Jenny spotted him hiding in a bush and coaxed him out. His fur was growing over the rifle pellet so it must have been lodged there for quite a while. The attack must have terrified him.

"Oscar was very aggressive with the other cats at first and would not eat, but he is settling down now.

"It's hard to believe anyone would shoot a defenceless cat. My belief is that there's some parents in Gargrave who don't know what their kids are up to with an air rifle and pet-owners need to be aware."

Mr Gill said he had informed the police and the RSPCA about the attack.