A pensioner laced tuna with poison in a bid to stop a neighbour's cat hunting his racing pigeons.

Charles Coulter had been told by his pigeon-fancier friends that anti-freeze mixed with the tinned fish was an ideal deterrent for all sorts of "vermin".

The 75-year-old had previously had problems with rats and weasels preying on his flock of competition birds.

But Livingston Sheriff Court heard he took decisive action when his neighbour's pet cat started taking too keen an interest in his beloved birds.

The self-proclaimed animal lover set out a dish of fish laced with poison on the step of his pigeon loft claiming he picked the raised spot so hedgehogs wouldn't take the deadly bait.

But his anti-cat crusade resulted in his neighbour's moggie suffering kidney damage, Livingston Sheriff Court heard yesterday. The kitten fell ill and spent days having emergency treatment in a pet hospital.

Lyndsey Armstrong, prosecuting, said the cat would need medication prescribed by the vet for life.

Coulter, 75, of Hartill Road, Fauldhouse, West Lothian, pleaded guilty yesterday to knowingly putting out poison with the intention of poisoning cats, among other things. He admitted breaching the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912 by mixing tuna with ethylene glycol. The offence carries a maximum fine of £2,500.

Raymond McMenamin, defending, said Coulter had stressed the tuna was a deterrent and not an attempt to poison or kill any cat.

"I think it's fair to say he learned a lesson from this." "Sheriff Martin Edington told Coulter he was deferring sentence for six months.