Kittens thrown into River Thames find new homes

Three kittens rescued by passers-by after being thrown into the Thames off Twickenham Bridge have been found new homes.

The man who threw them on 30 November "was very drunk and had a problem with alcohol" but did not intend to kill them, Wimbledon Magistrates' Court heard.

One kitten was saved before falling into the water. The other two went into the river and were carried along until they hit a mudbank.

People climbed down to rescue them and emerged, covered in mud, with frozen, almost dead kittens, one of the rescuers told the BBC.

The kittens spent three weeks at the vets before settling into their new homes with their rescuers, two of the kittens in Chiswick and one in Suffolk.

Andrew Shephard, 58, who admitted three counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, will be sentenced in February.

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