A British man who forced a cat to inhale cannabis by swinging it around his head in a smoke-filled bag was on Thursday banned from keeping animals for ten years.

Mark Kane (20) filmed the attack in January on his mobile phone. A voice could be heard on the clip, shouting: "This cat is getting stoned off its head."

"We do think the charges of animal cruelty are appalling in nature and caused real stress and unnecessary suffering to a domestic pet which was in your care," magistrate Ken Buck told Kane.

The court at South Shields, near Newcastle in northeast England, heard how Kane, who admitted to two counts of animal cruelty, put the cat in a draw-string bag and blew cannabis smoke into it. He then swung the bag around his head.

Prosecutor Clive McKeag told the court that it was a "vile" offence and "an extremely cruel thing for him to do".

Kane was also given a 12-week suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay #100 in costs.

Kane did not own the cat, but was looking after it. The animal has since disappeared.