A man battered a cat and threw it in a river to drown because he said it was a bully.

Dougal Thorn told The Argus he punched his neighbour's pet and hurled its limp body in the Adur after losing his temper.

Last night, he was being questioned by police after distraught owners Sarah Booker and Tom Walker reported him to police for the murder of their beloved animal.

Ms Booker said: "It makes me sick to think he did this. I cannot believe anyone could be so cruel."

Mr Thorn, 41, told The Argus he killed two-year-old Chopper on April 30 because it bullied his landlady's cat, Barney, and would get into his living room.

He said: "The cat became a menace. It bullied all the other cats in the area. Barney was terrified of it.

"Things were getting broken and the vase was knocked over with water and flowers everywhere.

He looked pleased when he knocked over the vase.

"I knocked him unconscious with my hand and then threw it in the river. I have never done anything like that before.

I absolutely regret doing it.

"I wish I could turn back time. I just lost it for a moment and made a terrible mistake."

Moments before he was arrested yesterday, Mr Thorn's landlady evicted him from his home in Anchor Close, Shoreham.

Neighbours Ms Booker and Mr Walker had spent the past week looking for Chopper.

Another neighbour is said to have witnessed the killing of the cat and told Mr Thorn's landlady about it.

Musician Mr Walker, 34, said: "I'm really angry but I still cannot understand why anyone would do this."

Radio presenter Ms Booker, 35, said: "It makes me cry to think of the way Chopper died.

"Chopper was a lovely, playful cat and wouldn't hurt anyone. I cannot comprehend how someone can kill an animal with their bare hands."

The couple have put up posters in the street with a picture of their rescued black cat, who they got from the RSPCA last year.

The posters criticise Mr Thorn, adding: "Chopper rest in peace, we love and miss you so much. We are so sorry we couldn't protect you. Our home will be empty without you."

Chief Inspector Lawrence Hobbs, of Sussex Police, said Mr Thorn had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and officers were investigating the incident.