A Skipton family is deeply upset after finding their family pets' cage broken into and the animals killed.

Liz Brazel, of Branch Road, told of the distress the family had gone through after the discovery.

"I looked out of the window in the morning and saw the two rabbits and one of the guinea pigs on the lawn. I asked my husband if he would move them before the children saw them. I couldn't go near them to see what state they were in but my husband said that one of the rabbits had a head missing and another had a paw missing. They had been torn open and their entrails strewn on the grass," she explained.

Mrs Brazel, who has three children, added that the eldest rabbit, a lop, had been in the family for over nine years. The other rabbit, a steel Dutch had been adopted from a neighbour last year when its companion died and they had had the guinea pigs for about a year.

"All the children are upset, especially my youngest daughter, Dawn, who is 11. She has never known us not to have pets and the rabbit in particular was like one of the family. I don't think we'll be having any more for a long time.

"When I looked at the cage I saw that it had been moved from its usual position and that the wire had been forced to one side. I can't believe that an animal would have been strong enough to do that. Even a large dog would struggle," she added.

Mrs Brazel said one of the guinea pigs had never been found and probably escaped during the fracas: "My daughter is hoping that it is hiding somewhere and will come home soon," she said.

Meanwhile, a distraught animal lover fears for local children playing on Skipton's Greatwood estate after losing pet cats to poisoning.

Gill Carr has had to watch both her beloved pets suffer agonising deaths after coming into contact with a mystery substance that has even baffled local vets.

Although she would like to believe there is nothing sinister behind the deaths of Minky and Topaz, her worst fear is that a "twisted" person is laying down the poison and she is worried that children could pick it up next.

She buried seven-year-old Minky just over a week ago. The otherwise healthy cat had died in exactly the same way as Topaz two years before.

Gill, a housekeeper from Jenny Gill Crescent, explained: "The vet feels the poison involved may be of a particularly toxic nature and may have been laid down deliberately.

"It causes blindness, bleeding and other irreversible damage to internal organs and nervous system. There's no antidote.

"Minky was fine when she went out in the morning and when my husband, Bob, returned home that night she was just staring into space and went on to vomit blood before going downhill fast.

"I feel like I need to tell people about what's happened to my pets to protect others from a similar fate. If it's been on purpose then there is someone very twisted out there. There are many children who play around the Greatwood and Horse Close estates and there is the frightening possibility that one of them might come into contact with the poison."

Gill's vet told her to report the deaths to the RSPCA immediately and an investigation has been launched.

With two lost animals buried next to each other in her back garden Gill and her husband are not getting another pet until they can get to the bottom of the mystery.

She added: "We have had a very traumatic time watching our cats die in agony and I would not want to risk another animal's life while I am living here."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.