A FAMILY of cat-lovers say they are “petrified” their pets are being targetted by an air rifle killer.

Mum-of-three Emma Nolan, 28, lives in Carr Road, Darwen, near to Ashton Park where six ducks and a goose were shot dead 10 days ago.

Now one of her four cats has gone missing, and another had her tail broken by a suspected pellet, still embedded under the skin.

Miss Nolan said: “We were devastated by the ducks being shot, as me and my three daughters had only been feeding them the day before they were killed.

“Now Ellie, who I’ve had for 10 years, has gone missing, and my six-year-old daughter found Wotsit with a broken tail after being shot. It’s not like Ellie to wander off like this, she’s very loyal, but we still don’t know if she’s been killed.

“Wotsit is coping all right with the tail, but she screams if you go near it or touch it. She is being treated by a vet.

“You could see under the surface that there’s a pellet and it looked just like the ones I used to shoot at cans with an air rifle when I was younger.

“I’m convinced, and my daughter Honey is convinced, that it’s been done by the same person who killed the ducks, and we’re all extremely upset.

“The person who has done this is still at large, and I’d hate to think that any more defenceless animals are being hurt.”

The incidents have been reported to the police, who have asked Miss Nolan for a vet to confirm Wotsit’s injury was caused by a pistol before they persue the case.

Ellie, the cat that is missing, is described as black with a half-white chin. She wasn’t wearing a collar and wasn’t microchipped, but has a distinctive rear paw that doesn’t retract the nails because of an accident when she was younger.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to telephone 07871 761871.