A MAN has been arrested in connection with the Brighton cat killings.

Another cat was "seriously injured" near Trafalgar Street in Brighton on Saturday evening. The pet has since died of its injuries.

Police investigated the incident and were able to find CCTV footage of the area.

After seeing this, a 52-year-old local man was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of "criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place".

The Argus:

He has been released on police bail until June 28.

Leading officer Detective Inspector Chris Thompson said: “We were made aware of a cat death and officers conducted a quick-time investigation to establish the circumstances.

“The arrested man has been released on police bail while enquiries are continuing.

“We are keen to trace a witness who we believe may hold vital information to our investigation.

"He is a white man, around 5ft 8in tall, in his 20s or 30s, of medium build, with long dark wavy hair and was wearing sunglasses at the time.

"We believe he may have stroked the cat before it was injured at about 7.50pm on Saturday.

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“If this is you, please make contact with us.”

Detectives in Brighton have been investigating a number of deaths or injuries to cats in Brighton during the last 18 months.

The South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty group (SNARL) has been recording and investigating the attacks in the area to raise awareness of the threat of the “Brighton Cat Killer”.

A spokeswoman said there had been more than 24 confirmed cases in the city that have been attributed to the killer and warned cat owners in the BN1 3, BN1 4 and BN1 6 areas to “be aware, vigilant and keep their cats in as much as they can”.

DI Thompson said: "We understand how distressing the deaths of these cats have been to both owners and organisations concerned with animal welfare and we are determined to establish what has happened to them in order to get answers for owners.

“Police resources have been used in the wider investigation in an attempt to establish exactly what has happened to these cats and we are working in partnership with an expert from the Royal Veterinary College to establish the cause of the deaths.

“We increased patrols in and around the areas that the cats have been injured or died, there have been house to house enquiries, we've viewed CCTV, taken statements from the owners and anyone who has found an injured or dead cat and continue to speak with anyone who has come forward with information about these incidents.

“We continue to appeal to anyone with information to contact Sussex Police either online or by calling 101 and quoting Operation Diverge.”