A devastated cat owner searched for his beloved missing pet for five days - only to find she had been run over and kept in a council freezer without him being informed.

Andy Whittley, 52, from Cleethorpes, spent the new year searching for his missing cat, Wilma, after she disappeared on the morning of New Year's Eve.

Little did Andy know, however, she had been hit by a car and had sadly died. She was put in a freezer by North East Lincolnshire Council, who didn't contact him - despite her being microchipped and wearing a collar - and he carried on searching.

Wilma was adopted alongside Fred five years ago by Andy, who originally took them on as a fosterer but soon fell in love with the pair.

Unfortunately, Wilma was prone to having fits, which could often leave her dazed and confused as to where she was.

This is why Andy had just thought she had gone missing at first.

Wilma disappeared on the morning of New Year's Eve, causing his owner to search all over the start of the New Year for her

He said: "She would have fits and had went missing before, because she would come round in a bit of a daze and wander around and get lost. I was hoping that was the case but it wasn't.

"Every morning, I would get up, get ready for work, feed the cats, and give Wilma her medicine, it was my little routine I did every day. After I give her her medicine, she normally just stays around the house and I come back to find her, but this time she decided to leave the house shortly after I left.

"I returned at lunchtime to check in on them, I noticed that Wilma wasn't there, and she was still missing when I came back home after work."

After Wilma did not return, Andy contacted his friend, Frances, who put it on Facebook to help spread the word and organised searches for the cat, which carried on into the New Year.

However, five days later, she received a message from someone who found a deceased cat on New Year's Eve near Andy's house and reported it to the council.

After calling the council on Sunday to check if it was Wilma, they scanned the chip and confirmed it was her, and he was able to collect her body and put her to rest.

Fred, left, and Wilma, right, were both adopted by Andy five years ago after he fell in love with the pair while fostering

It has not made the situation any easier for Andy and Fred, however, who are still left hurt by the way the situation was handled.

He said: "Fred clearly misses her, he keeps pawing at her bed and staring at the cat flap expecting her to come in. How can I explain what happened to him? It's heartbreaking to see.

"She had a collar on with a phone number and was microchipped, I don't know why they couldn't have contacted me on New Year's Eve when it happened.

"I am just so upset, I was hoping that she was alive somewhere, but it was five days of heartbreak instead."

Andy wants more to be done so this situation does not happen again, and has offered some advice to cat owners.

He said: "Don't just ring the vets and Blue Cross, but the council as well. You can get a tracker for them so that's what I'm buying next for Fred.

"It's just the uncertainty of not knowing whether they are lost or trapped in a shed or hurt somewhere. Just make sure that you check everywhere and buy them a tracker."

A spokesperson for North East Lincolnshire Council said: "We're sorry to hear the complaint about the deceased cat. It was found in Chichester Road on New Year’s Eve and we were contacted about it on January 5.

"We follow a procedure when picking up dead animals to make sure they are treated with care, compassion and dignity.

"Organisations such as the Cats Protection League advise people to check with their local council if their pet goes missing.

"We keep a record of all the pets we pick up in case we are contacted about them, but unfortunately we could not scan the cat to check if it had been chipped.

"Pets are checked for identity tags so we can contact the owners, but in this case the tag could not be seen."

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