A SYNOD Inn woman has spoken of her horror after her pet cat crawled home in agony with her front paw caught in the jaws of an illegal gin trap.

Anna Hopkins now faces an anxious wait to see whether Merlin, her two-year-old long-haired black cat, has to have her leg amputated.

“It was around five o’clock on Tuesday when she came in dragging this trap behind her,” Anna, 45, told the Cambrian News.

“She was crying and wailing so much that at first I thought she’d been hit by a car.

“It was terrible to see her in so much pain.

“But I suppose it could have been much worse. I live only 500 yards away from the local primary school and can’t help thinking one of their kids could have put their foot in this trap.”

Despite having been outlawed in 1958, gin traps are still being used to catch rabbits although experts have warned they are capable of severing a child’s hand.

Anna subsequently took Merlin to a Lampeter vet and handed the gin trap in at the local police station.

“It looks very old and rusty,” she said.

“The vet wasn’t quite sure whether the leg was broken or not so I’m having to take her in again tomorrow to see whether she has to have it amputated or not.

“I’m very upset about this and just hope another cat owner doesn’t have to go through what I’ve had to.”