A vicious thug battered his ex-girlfriend's three month old kitten to death in front of her as punishment during an argument.

Daniel Moran, 37, tore off a stair bannister pole and repeatedly smashed it into kitten White Stripe before tossing his lifeless corpse out of the bedroom window.

His former girlfriend, who wishes to remain anonymous, described unemployed Moran as 'evil' after the cat killer was jailed for 23 weeks by magistrates on Friday for assaulting her and killing the tiny kitten.

Moran, of Brambledown Road, Carshalton, had been staying with his ex in Wallington after being made homeless went berserk after a barbecue on October 2.

Croydon Magistrates heard how Moran had got into a fight earlier on in the evening.

During a drunken argument he ripped a spindle from the staircase before repeatedly hitting the black-and-white kitten, which was on the bed with its owner, Croydon Magistrates’ Court was told.

He flung it out of the window before hitting his ex partner twice in the face.

Moran’s lawyer, Mark Dakin said his client had a long-standing alcohol problem.

Chairman of the bench, magistrate Malcolm Gulliver, said: "You killed this kitten in front of its owner which must have been quite horrible."

He said Moran had also caused her substantial injuries and the offence was so serious that only a custodial sentence would be suitable.

Magistrates imposed a five year restraining order banning Moran from contacting his ex partner, and he was also banned from keeping an animal as a pet for the next five years.

He was given a 23-week prison sentence for assaulting his ex partner and a concurrent 18-week sentence for killing the cat.