A British security guard has been jailed for more than five years for stabbing 16 cats in a series of night-time attacks, according to BBC News. 

Steven Bouquet killed nine pet cats around the seaside resort town of Brighton between October 2018 and June 2019 while another seven were injured.  Judge Jeremy Gold said Bouquet's killing spree was "cruel, it was sustained and it struck at the very heart of family life".

The 54-year-old former seaman, who has been called the "Brighton cat killer", was sentenced to five years and three months in prison at Hove Crown Court.

Some of the owners who attended the sentencing, told the jury how they found their cats bleeding on their doorsteps after the knife attacks.

Sentencing Bouquet, Judge Jeremy Gold QC said Bouquet's behaviour had been "cruel". "It was sustained and it struck at the very heart of family life."

Bouquet had denied the charges and told the police he was "no threat to animals".

He was sentenced for five years for the attacks on the cats, and three months, to be served concurrently for possession of a knife. The judge said he would serve half his sentence in prison before being released on licence.

The police said the breakthrough in the hunt for the cat killer came in May 2019 when a nine-month old cat, Hendrix, was stabbed by a knife but managed to return home to his owners.

When they followed the trail of blood they noticed a CCTV camera, which had been set up by a neighbour whose own cat had also been attacked a year earlier.

The camera had captured Bouquet stopping to stroke the cat before taking out the knife from his rucksack. Hendrix fled from the scene but died later of his injuries.

Photos of two of the cats were later found on Bouquet's phone, and a knife with feline DNA on the blade was discovered at his home. The police also disclosed that Bouquet had repeatedly accessed a website in relation to lost cats in the city.