Owners of cats believed to be victims of the 'Croydon Cat Killer' have reacted with confusion and anger to the police announcement there is no killer.

The prolific mystery figure was believed to have killed more than 400 cats around the M25 over the last three years - but the police say there was no human involvement in the killings and the mutilation of animals was most likely done by foxes.

After the announcement sent shockwaves through south London, many people whose cats had been killed said they disagreed with the Met's conclusion.

James Hopkins and his fiancee Becky Petley, who run The Fireball Pizza Company in Bromley, found their cat Spike dead and decapitated in August 2017.

Since they found Spike dead, they have put leaflets for South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (SNARL) into their restaurant to try and help in the hunt for the killer.

Speaking to News Shopper, James said the conclusion was "rubbish."

He said: "I ask any police officer to look at our cat's body the way we found it and say a fox had done it."

James added Spike's injuries were too deliberate and clean-cut to have been mauled by a fox.

"We were told by a guy from SNARL he had been strangled. He was neatly skinned across his side and he had a neat cut along his side.

"When you hear the news, you just think: 'Are you kidding me?'"

However, while some cat owners are defiant in their belief their cats were killed by a human, others have been left confused.

Carole Marchant found her cat Harriet dead after first finding her collar and a chunk of her fur on the driveway when she left for work one morning.

When the body was eventually found, Harriet's head and front paw were gone, and her intestines were spilling out.

After the announcement, she said: "I don't know what my opinion is anymore to be honest. I'm not sure either way. Maybe it could have been a fox. I don't know how to feel now.

"I still think it is unlikely foxes did this. That's just my opinion but I'm unsure.

"Other owners might not be very happy with this situation. Probably because Harriet was very old (17) it it different for us. There was a chance Harriet could have died anyway. Maybe a fox took her but I'm unsure."

As the debate rages on, it seems plenty of people still think a cat killer is out there. What do you think?