A woman who was filmed putting a cat in a wheelie bin has been offered police protection after being identified by the RSPCA.

The grey-haired suspect was tracked down after she was caught on CCTV by the cat's owners, Daryll and Stephanie Mann, at their Coventry home.

Sky's Lisa Dowd said the woman was offered police protection because of the "level of vitriol against her".

She said residents in Coventry were extremely angry, and death threats had been made against the woman on the internet.

"West Midlands Police are taking her safety extremely seriously," she said.

The Manns found the trapped four-year-old cat when they heard her cries on Sunday morning.

They thought Lola must have been dumped in the bin by drunken yobs.

But when they looked through their CCTV footage, they were shocked to discover it was a middle-aged woman.

She is caught petting the animal on camera, before looking around to see if she is being watched.

The woman opens the wheelie bin, picks the cat up by the scruff of her neck and throws her in.

Mr Mann told Sky News: "I was shocked how someone could do something like that to an animal.

"I know some people don't like cats but you wouldn't expect them to do that to an animal that can't defend itself."

The incident happened at 7.55pm on Saturday and the cat was trapped for nearly 16 hours before she was dicovered by the Manns.

They said Lola was terrified and sitting in her own mess.

The RSPCA said it was "appalled" by the woman's actions and was continuing investigations to decide whether to bring charges against her.

A police spokesman told Sky News: "The RSPCA are leading an investigation into the incident and will be interviewing the woman shortly.

"Coventry Police are supporting this investigation and urge the public to leave the matter to be dealt with correctly by the authorities.

"Coventry Police have not arrested the woman becuase she has not committed a criminal offence." 

Source: SkyNews