A CAT suffered a broken leg when it was shot with an airgun.

The cat was recovering in surgery last night after an hour-long operation to remove a pellet lodged in its left hind leg.

The stray was discovered in the back garden of a house in Southwell Close, Halliwell, on Tuesday afternoon by a member of the public who thought it had injured itself.

The RSPCA was called in to rescue the animal, which was taken to Vetcare in Tonge Moor Road, Bolton, for X-ray.

It was only when veterinary staff studied the X-rays that they saw the pellet in the cat's left thigh bone which had shattered, breaking in two.

They decided to operate to remove the pellet and pin the leg.

Bolton RSPCA branch administrator Kathy Kay said: "This is just criminal, I can't believe it. It further proves that laws surrounding airguns must be changed. You cannot believe the damage one pellet has done.

"If the pellet had gone into the abdomen we might not have realised. But the cat was reasonably lucky for a situation like this."

Neil Taylor, vet and director of Vetcare Bolton, said: "It was quite a nasty break which you usually get with an airgun pellet because of the high velocity and impact.

"However, the operation went well. I inserted a pin into the leg, along with some surgical wire, to keep the two ends of bone together.

"This is a mindless thing to do which causes such upset to the animal and its owner. Using animals as a target in this way is a very malicious act."

For veterinary nurse Sophie Liptrott, aged 27, the shooting was just another sad reflection of what she often sees at work.

She said: "I've been working with Vetcare for eight years and airguns have always been a problem with cats."

Only yesterday the RSPCA published figures showing airgun attacks on animals were at record levels, with 197 reported incidents in northern England last year and 497 across England and Wales.