A WOMAN has spoken of her terror after discovering someone had placed a trap down to capture her two cats.

Charlotte Peachey, a cat owner who lives in Beale Crescent, in Eastleigh, was ‘terrified’ when she found that a Gin Trap had been hidden amongst the bushes to try and catch and injure her animals.

A Gin Trap is a mechanical device that is designed to catch an animal by the leg using spring operated jaws.

The pet lover said she was putting her Christmas decorations up when she discovered the device, on Saturday.

She said: “I was just putting some lights on the fence when I saw what looked like a mini bear trap and I wasn’t sure if it was working at the time so I used my broom to check and it then snapped shut..

“It took both me and my partner to pry it open, and if a cat got caught in that, then it wouldn’t stand a chance.

“I’m now absolutely terrified for all the wildlife, cats and children in this area.

“This person has gone to these lengths to injure or kill cats, this could have been sorted another way.

“There’s a lot of kids in my neighbourhood, and if one of them had kicked a ball in the garden and wondered what the devices were, they could have lost their finger, it’s so dangerous.

Upon discovering the traps, Charlotte got in touch with the RSPCA, as well as police, who came out and seized them.

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “We are opposed to the manufacture, sale and use of all snares and any trap which causes suffering because they cause unacceptable suffering to both the target species and other non-target species which fall victim to them.”

Although happy that the devices were seized, Charlotte now wants more to be done to stop people buying and using these traps and is starting a petition to try and do just that.

She said: “It’s not illegal to own the traps, it’s just illegal to use them, but if you were to ban the buying and selling, then it would solve the issue.”

The petition is going live in the next few days, and Charlotte says she just wants to get enough signatures to have it looked at.