Cat rescuer Michael Tulley has defended his decision to give a couple's pet away to a new home.

He and wife Jane are at the centre of a tug-of-love battle over a silver tabby called Saffie.

They are being sued for the return of the year-old cat by Suzie and Peter Wainman, who claim she belongs to them.

The Tulleys, who run Fiveways Cat Rescue from their Brighton home, took Saffie in after she was reported as a stray just before Christmas.

Mr Tulley said: "We had several reports that a very pretty silver cat was wandering around the streets of Poets Corner in Hove.

"We were also told it had been seen in Portland Road, which is a very busy road."

Mr Tulley said they picked Saffie up on December 19 and discovered she had not been neutered and was in season.

He said Fiveways Cat Rescue's policy was to neuter cats and re-home them if they were not claimed after seven days.

He added: "She had no collar and had not been microchipped so we could not find out who she belonged to.

"I have to say it is irresponsible to let any cat wander the streets without identification and without it being neutered.

"She is a very pretty little cat and we had no problems finding a new home for her. She went to her new owners on December 28, ten days after she came here.

"We did not get a call from Mrs Wainman until three days later, after the cat had already gone to her new home."

Mrs Wainman, who at the time lived in Hove, told a county court judge they were used to Saffie going missing overnight.

The cat would often spend the night in neighbours' homes, cadging a free meal and a place to sleep. However, she said they became worried when she had not returned after four nights.

She said they scoured the streets for Saffie, put up posters and offered a reward for her return.

Mrs Wainman, who now lives in Gardens Close, Portslade, said: "We did not know where she was or who had her."

She discovered Saffie had been taken to Fiveways Cat Rescue but claimed the Tulleys refused to reveal who they had given her to.

She showed Judge John Robinson a picture of Saffie wearing a collar and sitting under the family Christmas tree.

The Tulleys submitted only a written defence and Judge Robinson adjourned the case until February 20, giving them seven days to tell the Wainmans who they had given the cat to.

He said if ownership remained in dispute, Saffie might have to be taken to court so he could decide if she was the cat in the photograph.