When Wally the cat went missing, Robert and Michaela Sturman thought they had lost their beloved family pet for ever.

But they soon discovered the pedigree Birman had found another home just a quarter of a mile from their house in Copthorne, near Crawley.

Fiona May, a British Airways ground crew trainer, believing he was a stray, had taken him in and named him Binky after he kept turning up for scraps of food.

But Mr and Mrs Sturman were determined to get Wally back and Miss May's good deed turned into a nightmare when she was arrested and questioned for six hours by police over the alleged theft of the cat.

The ensuing row over ownership has left Miss May with a £413 bill and facing a deadline of August 15 to hand him back but Mrs Sturman, 35, fears she will not give Wally up without a fight.

She said: "I am very pleased we won the court case but I won't be happy until Wally is back with us. I was heartbroken when he went missing. He is part of the family.

"He is a very special cat. He is very affectionate and he follows you around."

The saga began three years ago when Miss May began feeding Wally, believing him to be a stray.

She said she put posters up and notices in shops in an effort to trace the owners and even phoned the RSPCA, who said if Wally was not claimed in 28 days he was legally hers.

Meanwhile, the Sturmans and their three sons, aged six, five and two, were frantically searching for Wally, who they bought along with his brother, Kitch, in 1994 for £185.

The Sturmans found out where Wally was a few weeks later and asked Miss May to give him back but she refused.

Mrs Sturman said: "She originally said she thought he was a stray but I don't really believe that because I was looking for him all the time. It was only two weeks later when I found out she was feeding him and she said she would stop. But she carried on.

"I even invited her to our home so she could see his brother Kitch and see he was well loved and well looked after."

When Miss May moved to a new job in the West Midlands, taking Wally with her, the Sturmans hired a private detective to track her down.

As a result she was arrested and kept in a police cell for hours while officers questioned her about the alleged theft.

No action was taken and the police advised the Sturmans to take civil action.

A judge at Haywards Heath County Court ruled Miss May had to hand him back and pay £413 to his owners.

Miss May said: "I was made to feel like a criminal. I was in one cell and the cat was in the next."

Miss May is considering taking legal action for wrongful imprisonment.