Lance Bowering at Bury Mags Court

A FORMER property developer who smashed a cat’s head repeatedly against a wall and radiator has been spared prison – after his mother wrote a letter on his behalf.

To send a link to this page to a friend, simply enter their email address below.

The message will include the name and email address you gave us when you signed up.

Email address

  Send link

To send a link to this page to a friend, you must be logged in.

Gillian Todd was said to be left screaming as she watched her son Lance Bowering, 38, bash her pet’s head against the wall of her home on December 10 last year

Bowering, of Airey Close, Newton Green, near Sudbury, pleaded guilty to a charge of repeatedly bashing the cat against the wall at a hearing on January 5 and reappeared at West Suffolk Magistrates’ Court this week for sentencing.

He was given a 14-week prison sentence, suspended for a year, and was told by magistrates that it was a letter written in his defence by his mother which had spared him a prison term.

Nikki Miller, prosecuting, told how Bowering had visited his mother’s home, which is also in Newton Green, with his five-year-old daughter earlier on the day in question.

He had then returned shortly after midnight having been drinking alcohol.

She told how Mrs Todd was on the telephone to her husband, who was in hospital, when her son arrived. Mrs Miller told how Bowering “grabbed the phone” from his mother and hung up. He then grabbed hold of the cat – called Silver Bear – in a manner which caused it to defecate before “repeatedly smashing it against the wall and radiator”.

She said despite his mother’s screams, he continued smashing the cat’s head against the wall.

“The cat appeared to be dead,” said Mrs Miller. “But she then managed to revive it. The cat did survive the ordeal.”

The court heard how, despite it being knocked unconscious, vets found no obvious wounds or neurological trauma to the animal after the incident.

Describing the police interview which followed the incident, Mrs Miller said: “He seemed to think he had not hurt the cat. He did not seem prepared to accept he had done anything wrong.”

Lyndon Davis, mitigating, said: “Fortunately there was no lasting injury to the cat. In terms of this offence Mr Bowering is someone who basically has let himself down badly. He struggles to appreciate the full impact of what he has done.”

He said Bowering had a drink problem and had suffered from the death of his grandmother, with whom he was very close, the break-up of his marriage and the collapse of his property renovation and development business in recent years.

The court also heard how Bowering had not only managed to maintain his relationship with his mother despite the incident but was also running the business of a family friend who is in treatment for an aggressive form of cancer.

Bowering was also given a 12-month supervision order with a six-month alcohol treatment scheme included.