SEVEN kittens left abandoned in a cardboard box have been given new homes. The cats, three black and four tabbies, were found by Dean Brown, 18, after he finished work at a sheet metal factory on Jubilee Road, Letchworth GC, on Friday. They had been bundl

SEVEN kittens left abandoned in a cardboard box have been given new homes.

The cats, three black and four tabbies, were found by Dean Brown, 18, after he finished work at a sheet metal factory on Jubilee Road, Letchworth GC, on Friday.

They had been bundled into a recycling box with a pair of tracksuit bottoms and left near an electric box, possibly overnight.

They were cold and damp and Dean, of Chiltern View, Letchworth, took them home and gave them to his neighbour Marianne Spate to look after. Mrs Spate, 51, is an animal lover and already has eight cats of her own.

She said: "This was a mindless, cruel act. It's disgraceful. If they didn't want them then why get to this stage, why wait until they are weeks old?

"They were really hungry when Dean brought them in. My eldest daughter went out and bought some kitten milk to warm them up. We also transferred them into another box and put them near the radiator so they could get warm."

Since they were discovered Mrs Spate has found good homes for all seven kittens.

"I'm keeping one, my daughter Sam will take some, and I've found good homes for the rest.

"If the owners were struggling they could have given them away to cat shelters rather than dumping them in a box where they would probably have died if they hadn't been found."

A spokesman for the RSPCA said: "There is no need to abandon any animal. It is illegal and it carries a sentence and a maximum £5,000 fine.

"The best thing to do is to ring your local RSCPA branch, or the national helpline, or indeed any other reputable animal welfare organisation."

The RSPCA national helpline is 08705 555999.