Pensioner trapped neighbours' cats in homemade cages Gordon Wilson, from Hunmanby in North Yorkshire, trapped three cats belonging to neighbours Joanne Wilcockson and husband Sean in April. He claimed the animals had been using his garden as a toilet, forcing him to catch them in homemade cages and release miles away from their home. Only one of the cats, three-year-old Pumpkin, managed to find its way back to its owners, but they claim that it was left so disorientated by the experience that it later wandered into the road and was run over. Younger cats Morris and Pansy never returned and the family hold little hope they will ever be found. Mr Wilson was caught when a fourth cat, Pip, went missing in October. Owner Mr Wilcockson went searching for him at 1am and eventually tracked him down to a cage in 74-year-old Mr Wilson's garden after hearing noises made by the distressed animal. "I thought he had been hit by a car and wandered around the road looking for him," Mr Wilcockson told the Daily Mail. I turned the light of my mobile phone on and saw he was sitting in this cage. I realised it was a trap immediately. Police arrested Mr Wilson later that day, and he admitted trapping the animal and apologised to the family. Scarborough Magistrates' Court later found him guilty of theft and ordered him to pay a £250 fine and compensation of £205 to the owners of the cats. "He said he was very sorry for what he had done and would never have done it if he had known the hurt he was causing," Mr Wilcockson said. He has a really beautiful garden and the reason he gave police was he likes it pristine and did not want to put his hand in the soil and find cat poo. If we had known there was a problem we would have bought him some cat-repellent pellets to put down - but we didn't know. We still do talk to him though. He is very remorseful. We don't expect to ever see the other two cats again but if anyone knows anything we would like to know if they are all right. Mr Wilson told the Daily Mail: "It's not something I'm proud of."