A woman who trapped and crushed 23 cats in a wheelie bin before leaving some to suffocate to death has avoided prison. 

Sharon Claire Price, 52, from Epsom, Surrey, abandoned the animals with no food or water before moving house within the town between July 21 and 24, 2024.

She weighed the bin lid down with a disused microwave so they could not escape, confining them to complete darkness and high temperatures inside. 

Vets said cats at the bottom of the pile were slowly crushed and smothered, with their bodies left soaked by urine from the other animals stood on top of them. 

The helpless pets, also hemmed in by a metal grid dumped in the bin, were found by housing association staff and collected by a charity before being taken to a vet. 

Eight had tragically died and the surviving 15 in the bin, which smelled strongly of ammonia, were severely dehydrated, underweight and covered in fleas.

Price, of West Street, claimed she found the cats in nearby woodland ahead of her move from another property on Whitmores Close. 

She insisted she had been advised by an animal charity to place the animals in a bin and secure the lid. 

Sharon Claire Price, 52, from Epsom, Surrey, abandoned the animals with no food or water before moving house within the town between July 21 and 24, 2024. Pictured: One of the cats after it was rescued 

She weighed the bin lid down with a disused microwave so the pets (pictured, inside the bin) could not escape, confining them to complete darkness and high temperatures inside

But an investigation found staff had actually recommended she contact The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) – which she failed to do.

Despite this, Price avoided jail when she appeared at Kingston Crown Court, where she was handed a four-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. 

She was also ordered to complete ten rehabilitation activity requirement days, banned from keeping cats and dogs for ten years, and must pay £1,000 in costs.

The 15 surviving cats were placed in the care of the RSPCA and another charity called Cats Protection. 

In mitigation, the court was told Price has mental and physical health issues and that she helps care for two daughters with mental health problems. 

RSPCA inspector Liz Wheeler, who led the investigation, said: ‘People will be absolutely shocked to think of what these poor 23 cats went through trapped in this wheelie bin.

‘Price claimed she had found the cats in woodland the previous day and had been advised to place them in a bin. Our enquiries did not support that account.

‘It was clear the cats had been suffering for some time due to their poor body condition and heavy flea infestations.

Vets said cats at the bottom of the pile (pictured, in the bin) were slowly crushed and smothered, with their bodies left soaked by urine from the other animals stood on top of them

‘Placing them in a bin on a hot day and trapping them inside caused significant and unnecessary suffering.’

A vet told the hearing: ‘All of the 23 cats suffered immensely.

‘The deceased cats at the bottom of the pile were slowly crushed and suffocated by the weight pressing down on them, and suffered the worst from the effects of the urine of the cats dripping down to the bottom of the bin, soaking their skin and burning their airways.

‘Those trapped underneath were unable to move and the ones higher were tangled in a metal grid with no way to escape.

‘They had no option but to stand or lie on the dead bodies of other cats below them.

‘They all would have experienced extreme fear and physical pain without any way of being able to achieve even temporary relief from their conditions.’