forgive me says woman who threw poor cat lola into a bin!

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

The woman who received death threats for throwing a cat in a wheelie bin today made a 'profuse' public apology for the upset she caused.

Mary Bale, 45, said she could not explain her actions, which had involved a 'split second of misjudgment' and were 'completely out of character'.

The unmarried bank worker was caught on video picking up four-year-old tabby cat Lola before throwing her into the bin and closing the lid.

Miss Bale said today: 'I want to take this opportunity to apologise profusely for the upset and distress that my actions have caused. I cannot explain why I did this, it is completely out of character and I certainly did not intend to cause any distress to Lola or her owners.

'It was a split second of misjudgment that has got completely out of control. I am due to meet with the RSPCA and police to discuss this matter and will cooperate fully with their investigations.'

But she claimed the outcry had been blown out of all proportion: 'I don't know what the fuss is about. It's just a cat.'

Miss Bale said she was just walking home on Saturday when she saw the cat and decided to play with it. But she told the Sun that she 'suddenly thought it would be funny' to put it in the bin.

'I did it as a joke because I thought it would be funny. I never thought it would be trapped, I expected it to wriggle out,' she said.

Referring to the CCTV footage, she told how she could not believe it was being seen around the world and was afraid it would upset her family.

She said: 'I don't know what my relatives will think but to be honest I think everyone is overreacting a bit.'

While Miss Bale admitted she should not have done it, she said she did not deserve to be 'hated' by everyone and assumed the cat would find its own way out the bin.

Her mother also insisted the unmarried bank clerk 'loved cats' - and had even kept them as pets as a child.

Celia Bale, 78, said: 'She's my daughter and as far as I'm concerned she is the most caring person you could ever wish to meet.

'She had cats when she was a little girl and has never shown any cruelty to animals before in her life - she loves animals.

'I talked to her on the phone today and she can't explain why she did it or what got into her head, only that she really regrets it.'

The mother-of-three added that her husband Maurice, Miss Bale's father, was in a critical condition after falling down the stairs last week, damaging his pelvis and vertebrae.

She said of her daughter: 'She's been under a great deal of strain these past two weeks.

'Her father had a nasty fall and has been in a critical condition in hospital ever since.

'She's very close to her father and I think it's had a real impact on her.

Mary Bale is escorted by officers from a house in Coventry into a police car today

Enlarge

Reunited: Lola back with owner Darryl Mann yesterday. He posted footage of the incident on YouTube in a bid to catch the culprit, now identified as Miss Bale (pictured above at her church choir's annual dinner)

'She's been soldiering on but I think it has got to her more than I realised.

'I'm awfully worried about her because people have been saying some dreadful things about her and making threats.'

She added that she believed her daughter might keep animals if she didn't work.

'I know that sounds ironic considering what has happened, but she does love cats,' she said.

It was also revealed last night that Miss Bale, who lives in Coventry and works as a cashier at RBS in nearby Rugby, was once a member of the Birmingham Bach Choir.

Miss Bale seems harmless as she strokes four-year-old cat, Lola, as it walks along a wall on a street in Coventry. But she then grabs it by the scruff of its neck, puts it in a wheelie bin and casually walks away

Miss Bale was caught on camera in Coventry as she threw the cat into the wheelie bin this weekend.

Lola was found 15 hours later when owner Darryl Mann, 26, heard her mewing from inside the bin.

Members of a Facebook group set up by Lola's owners to identify the woman in the CCTV footage have posted death threats against Miss Bale. Some have been posted from as far away as Australia.

Hundreds of thousands around the globe have seen the YouTube video they also posted, 100,000 in the UK alone.

One wrote 'throw her in the bin and see how she likes it', while others called for her to be killed. Last night, owner Stephanie Andrews-Mann, 24, said she was glad the culprit had been found and hoped she'd be brought to justice.

She said: 'All I wanted was a name so I could pass it on to the police.

'It's terrible that her dad's in hospital, but to be totally honest, it's not my cat's problem.

'Though what she did was totally wrong, I don't want her to be too petrified to go out.'

West Midlands Police were keeping watch outside Miss Bale's terraced home yesterday and a spokesman said she had been offered advice on how to stay safe.

Neighbours described her as a reclusive woman who rarely had visitors. One, who asked not to be named, said: 'She is a very nice lady, though very quiet.

The police and RSPCA investigation is continuing.

Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz0xcl3hJpZ

[KSNS]

seen this on new last night.. I dont like stupid cats but i would not do that to one but also on that note cats round here get in our bins that are exactly the same as that one an go throu the bags etc and get back out safely so i think its a little over the top having seen them get in and out on their own...

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

But she claimed the outcry had been blown out of all proportion: 'I don't know what the fuss is about. It's just a cat.'

'suddenly thought it would be funny' to put it in the bin.

'I did it as a joke because I thought it would be funny. I never thought it would be trapped, I expected it to wriggle out,' she said.

but to be honest I think everyone is overreacting a bit.'

she said she did not deserve to be 'hated' by everyone and assumed the cat would find its own way out the bin

she wonders y people are outraged! thats not JUST! a cat as she sees it - thats a living creature that didnt do ANYTHING to deserve what happened to her!

like Lola's owner said - 'It's terrible that her dad's in hospital, but to be totally honest, it's not my cat's problem.

weve ALL had some hardship in our lives - doesnt mean its right to go and do this to a poor animal!

[KSNS]

Still stand by my comment.

But saying its just a cat is a bit out of order as well as what she did but like i said still stand by my comment

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

keath what if it was your dog ? its gone up2 sum1 for a fuss and they do something like kick it or summin - but its ok because they are under alot of stress because their dads in hospital - i dont see how u can think what she did is ok - the poor cat was trapped for FIFTEEN hours!

[valkyries]

theres a real sympathy vote going on there, but i agree with the owners it's not the cat's problem. can you imagin if we all took our problems out on animals xxxx

[KSNS]

ermmm did you read what i put propelry ? i said i have seen cats get in and out of them down here all the time on their own so why could it not get out but i also said i dont agree with what she done

[MissBella]

yea im not a big fan for cats either, but i think they should but her in a dumpster and find a way out......i know cats and other animals go into bins all the time, but to be put in there against their will, just not nice and just uncalled for...

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

because not all cats can get out ov bins - not all cats can get into them - maybe some can but that doesnt mean all ov them can - ive gew up with cats - ive had about 8 cats growing up none ov them could get IN bins so im guessin that would mean that none ov them would be able to get out either

hell i find wheely-bin lids actually rather heavy so a poor little cats not gonna be able 2 get 1 open is it

[valkyries]

the bin looked empty so it would have been deep and with the lid down also dark, so the cat not only could not get out it was prob confused about where it was also xxxx

i've seen cat's get in and out of bin's also but there usualy full or half full, and lid's either open of missing xxxx i think if the cat could have got out it would have. she's just evil xxxx

[valkyries]

Nix calm down take a breath, keath is intitaled to his opinions hun and she's been caught now xxxx

[Tikaani&Aiyana]

Whats happening in her personal life is NO excuse to throw a cat in the bin

...and it isn't something that 'just happens'?!!

[KSNS]

the bin looked empty so it would have been deep and with the lid down also dark, so the cat not only could not get out it was prob confused about where it was also xxxx

i've seen cat's get in and out of bin's also but there usualy full or half full, and lid's either open of missing xxxx i think if the cat could have got out it would have. she's just evil xxxx

Point taken on the things being in there to offer the height to get out

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Nix calm down take a breath, keath is intitaled to his opinions hun and she's been caught now xxxx

sorry linda - im calm now - this story has just really upset me tho specially as a cat lover myself i just cnt understand y some1 would do this to a poor defencless animal xxx

sorry keath - didnt mean to have a go xx

[valkyries]

Not a problem Nix, i'm not a lover of cat's i admit but would never harm one. Now if it was a dog lol i'd react just like you have xxxxx

[KSNS]

sorry linda - im calm now - this story has just really upset me tho specially as a cat lover myself i just cnt understand y some1 would do this to a poor defencless animal xxx

sorry keath - didnt mean to have a go xx

I don't condone what she has done cats here do it by choice and to make a mess lil gitts ..

It's cool i can take it lol

Have a pluss1 for making up lol xx

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

and a plus1 to you too *hugs* xx

[SarahNukka&Shadow]

Her own statments are vastly contradictory! How on earth can she ask people to sympathise with her for her problems on the one hand but then say "its only a cat", and she "thought it would be funny" on the other?

Either your sorry and you know what you did is wrong or your not make your mind up!!

And if she cant see why everyone is so angry with her then she cant really be sorry which to me says she has no remorse and no thought for another life, that is completely sociopathic behaviour and she needs psyciatric help!!

[husky princess]

there is nooooooooo way could my cat get out. she would be petrified being in there like that. imagine if it had been a really hot day stuck in a black bin getting hotter and hotter. if a cat got in cos it was inquisative thats a different story...this is an adult who acted with no thought or care with one intention.

Evil witch...who rightly should be done for unnecessary cruelty & suffering.

For those who dont like cats....come on it is an animal like your dog. it has feelings, pain, hunger, thirst & as a domesticated pet relys on its owner for warmth, food and protection...just like your dogs. This is clearly distressing for the cat and its owners, just like it would if something unnecessary was done to your dog.

[valkyries]

one way or another it will come back to bite her, even if she gets away with it with the Law and the RSPCA. She will always be known as the evil cat woman and people do take this stuff to heart, so could affect her job, people have been known to avoid shops for less, so this could happen in the bank she works.

Also any cat that goes missing in her area, she will be the first that springs to mind. This could afect her life in more ways than one.

[Sqwidge]

ok this may not come across right - so don't yell at me!

i love cats and obviously wouldn't hurt one and i don't condone what she's done at all, seems really stupid and cruel.

However, i don't think that death threats are warranted, she didn't kill it, it was perfectly fine - she should be punished for what she's done, but where do people get off threatening her.

I also think she may have mental issues judging by the way she did it randomly and then thought it would be funny and being a bit blase about it...

[Rosemary]

I agree Sarah - she seems a little off center to me. The cat is safe at home, and she will have to face the consequences of her actions, but I sincerely hope she doesn't lose her job over this, her life is going to be difficult as it is after this. Maybe she needs professional help.

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

she blamed it on stress because her dads in hospital - wil serve her right if she looses her job - i dont agree on the death threats tho but she needs to be punished!

[valkyries]

Nix she will be punished she has to live with what she did, is that not inuf ??? the next few month are going to be hell for her, i agree she needs professional help, stress makes you did some stupied things, you don't think straigh.

How many people can say they have NEVER had an evil stupied thought run through their head ??? the only difference is at the time we we're thinking straight so we did not act on it.

[Saffmonster]

Well said Linda!!

What the lady did WAS WRONG, but the death threats aren't warranted and she will get punished for doing what she did. Her life will probably never be the same again.