A teenager killed a cat in a microwave after he heard it 'talking to him,' a court has heard.

Jamie Blake, of St Edmunds Court, Thetford, appeared at Bury St Edmunds Magistrates' Court this morning (Wednesday) charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, a cat, by microwaving it until it died on September 27.

Sarah-Jane Atkins, prosecuting, said the 19-year-old befriended the cat, which he called Buddy, while he was staying at John Room House sheltered housing accommodation in Thetford.

Blake, who admitted the offence, had said he had the cat in his room for company at night, feeding it cheese and tuna, but it then started talking to him, saying that his mother's ex-partner - who is actually dead - was injecting his mother with heroin.

The defendant, who has mental health issues, then started arguing with the cat and put it in the microwave, killing it.

Miss Atkins said he told other residents what he had done, but at first no-one believed him.

'Apparently he was laughing about this to other residents. Saying he had put it in the microwave for three minutes killing it. And appeared to be quite jovial about the situation,' she said.

CCTV footage was viewed after fur was spotted near Blake's room.

It showed him picking the cat up by the scruff of its neck and taking it to his room, then leaving his room with a carrier bag which appeared to have the cat in it. Then it showed him disposing of the microwave the following day.

Staff at John Room House found the cat - which visited the accommodation - and the microwave within the bin areas.

Mr Dunphy, mitigating, said: 'Here is a young man who was not in the right frame of mind in committing this offence.'

Fran Lewis, of the probation service, said Blake had not been able to address his drug misuse which might be a contributing factor to his mental health problems.

She said the defendant was deemed to be 'high risk' and not someone they felt they were able to manage safely in the community.

Blake also admitted a charge of stealing food worth �5.99 from the Jet Garage in Thetford on September 12.

He will spend four weeks in prison as a suspended sentence was reactivated plus a further four weeks to run consecutively for the theft from the garage.

He has been remanded in custody and will return to court on October 30 to be sentenced for the animal cruelty offence after a mental health report and full psychiatric report have been prepared.