Eighteen-month-old Charlie was playing in fields near his home in Weston-under-Lizzard, Blymhill, Shropshire, on Tuesday morning when someone deliberately aimed a shotgun at him and pulled the trigger.

The black and white tom cat had to undergo emergency surgery to remove lead shot embedded in his body and is now making a slow recovery.

His owner, Laura Duckhouse, heard the shots but did not realise what had happened at first. She thought Charlie had been hit by a car.

I didn't think anything like that could happen in this area, you just think he's free to roam Laura Duckworth

Miss Duckhouse said: "Basically, Charlie came home and was just sitting in the hall.

"He was not doing much so mum picked him up and realised he was bleeding all on his right side of his face and he was limping on his right leg."

The family only realised he had been shot when x-rays were taken at the veterinary surgery.

Although most of the pellets have now been removed, some will remain inside Charlie for the rest of his life.

Vet Barry Jacob said: "We felt that the pellets that were left in place would not cause any further damage and that trying to move them by means of a further operation would probably cause more damage."

Now Miss Duckworth and the police want to catch the person responsible for putting Charlie's life at risk.

"I didn't think that anything like that could happen in this area, you just think that he's free to roam and that it's nice for him," she said.

"He's so little and he can't fight back. We love him to pieces, he's our little pet."