A stray cat seen wandering the streets in Hitchin has had a bijou property designed and built for it by an award-winning construction company.

The open-plan home, built over one level, has access to local amenities, with regular food deliveries and a constant supply of fresh water.The Comet: This one-off cat home was designed and built by Nick Claessen, senior operations manager at Willmott Dixon, and his family.This one-off cat home was designed and built by Nick Claessen, senior operations manager at Willmott Dixon, and his family. (Image: Willmott Dixon)Nick Claessen, senior operations manager at Willmott Dixon, which last year won a King’s Award for enterprise, created the new home with the help of his wife and children, and named the cat Wilbury.

He said: "Wilbury turned up around our office a couple of years ago. We assumed he was a stray, as he was always hanging around.

"This year, the winter seems to have been particularly cold, and we started to feel sorry for Wilbury, that he didn’t have somewhere warm to hunker down and be protected from the elements."

Nick took discarded materials from site, had them cut to size and took them home, where he worked with his family to build and paint the quirky cat home.

Nick said: "A number of our people took on responsibility for feeding him and worming him and he obviously decided he liked it round here. His little house has become quite a talking point for everyone.

"Community is so important to us, and I think we have shown that it’s not just the humans who matter. It may seem a small thing, but it shows the kind of company we have."

Wilbury has now found an even cosier foster home, making it the purrfect happy ending.