A MOTHER has said she was 'gobsmacked' that Bournemouth council took three days to remove a dead cat from the communal garden of their council housing.

Dee Norton, 47, and her 10-year-old daughter Rebecca discovered the cat covered in maggots at the shared garden of council flats in Slades Farm on Friday October 27.

The mother said she was terrified it posed a serious health risk to all the residents and spent around two hours on the phone to the council asking them to remove the body.

She said: “The sight of the dead cat was very upsetting and completely disgusting. It was creating a serious health hazard because it was attracting flies, maggots, bacteria and other vermin like foxes and rats. I was terrified my daughter or one of the other children might touch the body.”

Dee said she was passed from department to department at Bournemouth council and was told the body was not be removed for several days. She said: “I exchanged around 15 phone calls with the council, but no one would take any responsibility. I was even told that I would have to pay, even though it’s not my land or my cat. I couldn’t believe it, I was absolutely gobsmacked.

The body was recovered by the street cleansing team yesterday.

A spokesperson from Bournemouth Council said: “We received a report of a dead cat in the communal area of a block of flats in Slades Farm. The Street Cleansing Team went out as soon as possible.”