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An Angus teenager who microwaved a kitten had to be protected by police from outraged residents as he left court.

There was anger in Forfar as 18-year-old Declan Baker was spared jail for "cooking" the animal. The kitten later had to be put down.

Baker, of Forfar, pleaded guilty to the animal cruelty charges.

The teenager told police he put the four-week-old kitten into the microwave and turned it on as a "joke". He said he completed the act at a friend's home after getting drunk on a half a bottle of whisky.

Baker, a former window-cleaner, walked free when a sheriff put him on probation and ordered him to undertake 120 hours of service. He was also banned from owning a pet for seven years and ordered to pay £150 in compensation to cover veterinarian's fees.

As he left Forfar Sheriff Court on Thursday, Baker was jeered by a group of local teenagers who branded him a "beast".

Sheriff Kevin Veal said he would be "hard pushed to envisage a worse case of animal cruelty".

The sheriff's decision not to send Baker to prison enraged animal rights campaigners.

John Robins, spokesman for Animal Concern Advice Line, said: "We're disgusted at this decision. We're disgusted that anyone who can do something as cruel as this can walk from court a free man.

"Anyone found guilty of such an horrific crime should be banned for life from keeping animals, sentenced to time in prison and then monitored on release to make sure they don't repeat their crimes or go on to more horrendous activity."