A mother and son have been fined after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to a kitten.

Simon and Eunice Burrows, both of Princess Street in Accrington, had three kittens seized from their home.

The RSPCA said one kitten’s eyeball had exploded out of the socket. The two defendants had taken one kitten called Baer to the vets, but left without obtaining any treatment. A vet said the eye had been hanging out of the socket for a minimum of five days but likely to be longer, according to the RSPCA.

RSPCA Inspector Charlotte Booker said: “I was horrified when I saw this kitten. I cannot imagine how much pain he must have been in, every bone in his body could be felt.

“The vet thought that he had lost weight because he had been in too much pain to eat. It ended in the kitten’s eyeball basically exploding in the socket. When he had his eye removed his heart stopped beating on the operating table.”

She added that the kitten had made a full recovery and that all three had been rehomed.

Simon Burrows, 32, and Eunice Burrows, 57, both pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a kitten at Burnley Magistrates Court on Friday, September 5. Eunice Burrows was fined £70 and ordered to pay £150 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

Simon Burrows was fined £100 and order to pay a £20 victim surcharge and costs of £150.