WARNING: Some people may find the images distressing.

A 20-year-old who beat his 11-week-old kitten and suffocated the animal with a duvet before hanging it outside a block of flats has been jailed for 16 weeks.

Kieran Haynes from Birkenhead was sentenced at Wirral Magistrates Court on Tuesday, April 3 after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to causing unnecessary suffering to the kitten named Niko.

RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes investigated the case after Niko's body was found hanging outside flats where Hayne's ex-partner lived on November 23, 2017.

Inspector Joynes said: “This poor kitten was found hanging from a piece of rope outside the block of flats, clearly having suffered a horrific injury.

"The kitten was recognised as belonging to Haynes, as he had posted photos of the kitten on social media pages before the incident.

“When I interviewed Haynes, he admitted that he had hit Niko with the back of his hand after Niko scratched him.

"He said that afterwards, Niko’s face became swollen and he became wobbly - at which point Haynes went out for seven hours.

“When he returned, Niko was in the same spot and was lying in his own faeces.

"He was clearly severely injured with a broken eye socket and was suffering from swelling to the brain.

"Haynes said that as he approached Niko to check on him and attempt to stroke him that the kitten had attacked him. At this point he has then covered Niko with a duvet and held it there until the kitten stopped moving.

“Afterwards, Haynes took Niko’s dead body and hanged him from a piece of rope outside a block of flats where his ex-partner lived.”

A post-mortem examination found that Niko had suffered from a broken eye socket and that he had been smothered so hard that he had lacerations on his lip from his teeth.

He also had a large bruise on his skull.

He added: “When I joined this job nine years ago I knew I'd be dealing with difficult situations and seeing heartbreaking sights.

"Nothing however can fully prepare you for dealing with cases such as this one, where the animal is already deceased when you arrive.

“This case involved the purposeful infliction of immense pain and suffering by way of physical violence on a completely defenceless and vulnerable 11-week-old kitten.

“Animals can't choose their owners and unfortunately poor little Niko found himself in the wrong place, at the wrong time and in the care of the wrong individual.

"This case will stay with me for a very long time and I'm just glad that through our investigation we have at least not allowed Niko's suffering to go completely unanswered.”

As well as a 16-week immediate prison sentence, Haynes was disqualified from keeping animals for life and was ordered to pay a £115 victim surcharge.