A young family in Heartsease has been left heartbroken after receiving a phone call that their cherished cat Joey had been killed.

Joey's owner, Sammie Evans, and her children are distraught after the pet was hit by a motorist who left the scene of the accident in Munnings Road.

The mum-of-two, 26, said: "We need to draw attention to the issue. Every day I see someone speeding around the estate.

“My children are heartbroken, we all are.”

The family got Joey in the first lockdown and for Sammie and her kids, Charlie, five, and Daisy, three, it was instant love.

“He has been the most loving family pet,” said Sammie.

“Joey was loved by everyone, my children, our whole family and even neighbours.”

The cat was so devoted to the family he used to follow them on the school run, and then wait on the corner for Sammie to return.

“He always wanted to be with us," she added.

But that all changed yesterday when Joey was sadly hit by a vehicle and lost his life.

Sammie said: “What makes this so hard is to know that Joey was hit and then whoever hit him just left him to die on his own.”

A person walking in the area spotted Joey and made a call to the council to pick him up so that he could be identified and the family notified.

“People can be so careless. Cats belong to people, they are part of someone's family,” Sammie added.

Sammie and her family have now laid Joey to rest in their garden so that he can always be close by.

“My children have drawn pictures for him and laid out his most favourite things which include a teddy bear and his snuggly blanket,” Sammie explained.

She added: "Joey's death is a massive loss to my family - he's irreplaceable.

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"People need to drive around the estate with far more caution. I hate to think what could happen especially with my young kids."