Animal-loving S Norton staff save cat from scrapyard shredder

Animal-loving staff at a Manchester metals recycler saved a family cat from their scrapyard shredder after the owner alerted them that her pet was missing.

Owner Bekky Barber was unaware her six-year-old cat called Hope had climbed into the engine compartment of her old Citroen Picasso for the 12-mile trip from her home in Wythenshawe to S Norton & Co’s processing site at Trafford Park.

The cat leapt out when an employee opened the bonnet, giving him the ‘fright of his life’.

Initially Bekky thought the animal was a stray, but later realised it must have been her pet when she got home to find her missing. She called S Norton & Co and employees were asked to look out for Hope. Bekky also called in cat catcher Debra Carter, who laid four traps around the yard.

After seven days of daily checking the traps, S Norton staff found Hope who was a bit ‘oily’, but otherwise unscathed.

Site foreman Chris Bossons commented: “One of the lads was taking details and the cat jumped out when he lifted the bonnet. It scared the life out of him! They were all asked to look out for the black cat and double-check before cars go into the shredder.

“I kept on going back checking the traps between jobs and it was the seventh day when I found the cat meowing in one of the traps in the corner. I immediately rang Debra to tell her and she contacted the owner Bekky. We still didn’t know we had the correct cat until Bekky arrived and we knew then by her reaction that this was her cat. It was a great ending to a great story of Hope the missing cat!”

Bekky said: “Two feral cats were caught before they found Hope after a week. She’s great, although she smelled a bit oily and had a chipped claw, but that’s it. It was such a relief.”

She added: “If it wasn’t for Debra and the scrapyard lads who co-operated with her, I don’t think I would have got her back.”

For more information on S Norton & Co, visit the website at www.s-norton.com.