A WIRRAL couple had an unexpected visitor after a bag containing a kitten was thrown over an eight-foot hedge into their garden.

Kim O'Brien and partner Billy Edwards were enjoying a cup of tea at their home in School Lane, Bidston, this afternoon when a hessian Tesco bag landed yards from them.

Thinking it just was a bag of rubbish that had been rudely thrown their way, Kim went to pick it up and noticed that it was moving. Opening the bag, she was shocked to find the terrified kitten wrapped in a baby blanket.

Looking over the hedge, Kim saw a woman, who she believes to be the person who threw the bag, pushing a pram along the road. By the time she had run out of the front gate, the mystery woman had disappeared.

Kim told the Globe: "I'm not normally stuck for words, but am stunned by what's happened.

"There's enough help from the RSPCA for people who don’t want animals. I was on the way to the RSPCA, when a friend of mine said she’d take it off my hands.

"I'm absolutely disgusted and shocked by what's happened. The kitten couldn't fend for itself if it was left to wander the streets. I can’t understand why anyone’s done this.

"It could be that it was the last of the litter and the owner has been having trouble getting rid of it and had tried to get rid of it as a last resort. But there's no need to do this."

Kim is unable to look after the abandoned kitten as she already has a dog and two cats, so a friend has agreed to take care of it.

An RSPCA spokeswoman said: "This sounds like an absolutely despicable act.

"It doesn't bear thinking about what might have happened to the kitten if not for the actions of the couple involved.

"It is never acceptable to treat an animal this way, whatever the motivation, and anyone found to have done such a thing could face prosecution."